Ego Nwodim exits ‘SNL’

Just when it looked like SNL had finalized its cast for Season 51, Ego Nwodim made the bombshell announcement on Friday that she had decided to leave the show.

“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight,” Nwodim wrote on Instagram. “But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL. I am immensely grateful to [Lorne Michaels] for the opportunity, to my castmates, the writers, and the crew for their brilliance, support, and friendship. Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories (and that laughter) with me always.”

Deadline reports that Nwodim “made the decision after it was thought that the cast for Season 51 was set and ready to go ahead of its October 4 return.” After losing Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim, NBC announced last week that it had shifted Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall into the main cast while also adding Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.

Losing Nwodim is going to be huge for SNL. (Especially when paired with the show reportedly choosing to not keep Gardner.) Not only has she been a core part of SNL’s cast since 2018, delivering iconic sketches like “Lisa from Temecula,” she has consistently been a regular Weekend Update guest — closing out last season with the return of her Miss Eggy persona.

Kind of feels like Lorne Michaels has botched the transition that was supposed to move the show past its milestone SNL50 celebration. You gotta wonder if Nwodim saw how the show treated Gardner, and then made the decision to step away.