Devon Walker is leaving Saturday Night Live.
The comedian, 34, announced his departure via Instagram on Monday, August 25, posting a selfie in front of a flatscreen TV that showed the NBC sketch comedy’s logo. “Me and my baby broke up ❤️,” Walker captioned the post.
He had joined SNL as a featured player in 2022 and was promoted to full-time status two years later.
In his IG announcement, Walker also posted a screenshot of a text message that read “I’m out” with a celebration emoji, a throwback photo from inside the iconic SNL studio, an image of former President Joe Biden stumbling while exiting an airplane, and another screenshot of a message where he reflected on his exit.
“To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages,” Walker wrote. “Some of em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not. That’s the deal. You know what it is when you sign up.”
He continued, “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all the dysfunction. We made a f***ed up lil family.”
Walker said that most of all, he’s “just really happy he got to do it with [former SNL writers Alex English and Gary Richardson].” The latter two “really went from running a bar show to working together at 30 rock! It’s a beautiful thing,” he added.
In conclusion, he mused, “Anyway, I’m bout to go to Japan. When I get back I’m tryna be in a prestige drama. Ideally something with Julianne Moore. Hope y’all staying hydrated and getting some money today.”
Walker’s friends and fans left supportive messages in the comments section.
“I’ll miss being your pregnant wife all the time!!!!!,” SNL cast member Chloe Fineman wrote, while Quinta Brunson remarked, “Devon!!”
Comedian Ron Funch added, “Onward and upwards. Congratulations on the great work.” And ex-SNL regular Taran Killam gushed: “You were great on it. A true star.”
SNL wrapped its landmark 50th season in the spring and will return for its 51st in early October. The most recent ensemble had included Walker, Fineman, Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Michael Che, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Ego Nwodim, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, Marcello Hernández and Michael Longfellow, as well as a handful of new players.
Earlier this week, SNL creator Lorne Michaels teased a cast shake-up for season 51, confirming only that Johnson — who impersonates President Donald Trump — would come back next season.
“More people are involved in the choices and in the decisions,” Michaels, 80, told Puck. “There’s a lot of people in that room with a lot of opinions. I make the final decision, obviously. But it’s not as if people don’t let me know how strongly they feel.”
