Two “Saturday Night Live” cast members who made history when they were hired have announced their exits from the sketch comedy show.
Punkie Johnson, who joined “SNL” as a featured player in 2020, was the first out Black queer woman on the show’s cast. She joined other LGBTQ cast members Kate McKinnon and Bowen Yang. Danitra Vance, a Black lesbian who was a cast member on “SNL” in the mid-1980s, was not out publicly when she was on the show.
Molly Kearney was SNL’s first ever nonbinary cast member. They joined the sketch comedy show in 2022.
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Johnson reportedly told an audience at a stand-up comedy show at Brooklyn’s Union Hall on Wednesday that she wouldn’t be returning to “SNL” after four seasons, according to TODAY.com.
In an Instagram video posted Thursday confirming her departure, Johnson mentioned that people reached out to her after she responded, “Oh, I ain’t coming back,” when an audience member asked her if she was looking forward to the show’s 50th season next year.
“It’s no bad blood, it’s no bridges burned, it’s no hard feelings,” Johnson said. “Bro, I love my people! I didn’t think none of this was going to be a big deal.”
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A longtime comedian and performer from New Orleans, Johnson has starred in TV shows including “Space Force,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and “Corporate.” She started her career at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, where she began as a server. Even waiting tables there was competitive, she told NBC News, adding that when she arrived for her interview, there were at least 70 people competing for the job.
Kearney on Friday announced their exit with an Instagram album of pictures from their time on the show.
“Yall that’s a wrap on my time on SNL! Reflecting on the amazing 2 seasons I got on this show, it was such a dream come true,” Kearney wrote.
Kearney said they were “so incredibly grateful” for their time on the show and that it was “a true honor to work with such a talented group of writers,” adding, “and DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CAST.”
Kearney, who is from Cleveland, appeared as Fern Dannely in Amazon’s “A League of Their Own” — a remake of the 1992 film that has been a huge hit with queer fans.
They were also in Disney+’s “The Mighty Ducks,” and in 2019, they were selected for Comedy Central’s “Up Next,” an annual showcase of comedians that the network selects after a nationwide search
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