Punkie Johnson is getting candid about the reason why she left Saturday Night Live ahead of its milestone 50th season.
The comedian, 39, opened up about the decision to walk away from the long-running sketch comedy show after four seasons while speaking to former SNL cast members Dana Carvey and David Spade on the Wednesday, August 21, episode of their “Fly on the Wall” podcast.
“I talked to my team. I was like, ‘Look, I don’t really know if I belong at this job, so maybe I should step away,’” Johnson told Carvey, 69, and Spade, 60, of the conversation she had before season 49, adding that her team convinced her she first needed to figure out “a plan” and couldn’t “just quit” her job.
Though Johnson said her last season was “tremendous” and she got “three or four sketches in the first half” of the season, things took a turn after her writer Ben Silva exited the show. The Love Life actress noted that Silva “just knew how to speak Punkie” and could put her ideas into “SNL format,” which was the “hard part” for her.
“I didn’t really feel like I fit, like I didn’t feel like that was my zone. That show is for a different type of person,” Johnson continued. “I came from stand-up, so I just thought everybody else came from stand-up. I started having conversations with people and everybody was like, ‘Oh yeah, we went to school for this.’ I’m like, y’all went to school to be here?”
Johnson went on to tell Carvey and Spade that despite leaving the show, she’s getting opportunities left and right. “It’s crazy,” she added.
Johnson joined SNL in 2020, making history as the first out Black queer woman cast on the show.
“It wasn’t even a dream because I never thought that I would get there. That’s how surprised I was,” she told NBC News after her first season wrapped in 2021. “I’m just this little lesbian chick from New Orleans who is just enjoying life doing comedy and thinking that’s it.”
She announced her departure after four seasons at one of her stand-up comedy shows in July, and later uploaded a video via Instagram elaborating on her announcement.
“[There’s] no bad blood, no bridges burned, there’s no hard feelings,” Johnson said in part. “I love my people. I didn’t think this was going to be a big deal. SNL was a dream I didn’t even know I could achieve. I was a part of one of the most elite institutions in comedy and I am so grateful for it. That’s still my people, I love them. I’m going to be at the afterparties acting a fool. But my time there has come to an end.”
