- Melissa Villaseor had been on the show for six seasons and was regarded as a key player.
- Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker have taken their place.
- The 48th season of Saturday Night Live began airing earlier this month.
Fans of Saturday Night Live were taken aback on numerous occasions during this year’s holiday break by news of long- and short-term cast members leaving the late-night sketch comedy programme. Melissa Villaseor, who had been on the show for six seasons and was already regarded as a key character, included in numerous skits per episode, was one of the players that took part in this “mass SNL exodus.” The comic opened up and discussed her reasons for leaving the NBC flagship show in an interview with The Daily Beast’s Last Laugh podcast.
We’re prone to assume that there was conflict behind the scenes whenever a seasoned cast member abruptly leaves a show, but Villaseor insisted that the SNL set is not a hostile place. She admitted that in her situation, leaving stemmed solely from the fact that she is an introvert and that being in the spotlight all the time while performing on stage didn’t do anything to reduce her anxiety:
“It was my decision. I gave myself a lot of time in the summer to think on it and play it out in my head. At the end of the day, it was about my mental health. Last season, I had a couple panic attacks. I was struggling, and I always felt like I was on the edge of a cliff every week. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that to myself anymore.’ […] I get nervous, like, ‘Where do I fit? What am I supposed to do?’… I think that’s what caused it. There was just something telling me I could part ways. It was super hard, because I love Lorne [Michaels, the show’s longtime producer], and I’m so grateful to all of them for having me. This was my kid dream. This was all I wanted as a kid. I carry that forever in my heart that I got to experience that in my life.”
Along with Villaseor, popular cast members Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Alex Moffat, and Aristotle Athari also announced their departures in 2022. Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker have taken their position as newcomers.
The 48th season of Saturday Night Live (SNL) began airing earlier this month, and so far hosts Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick), Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), and Megan Thee Stallion have served as hosts (She-Hulk: Attorney At Law). Rapper Jack Harlow will serve as both the host and musical guest for this episode.
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