‘SNL’s Punkie Johnson Explains Why She “Didn’t Really Feel Like I Fit” On Show
After four seasons on Saturday Night Live, Punkie Johnson has revealed the reason for her sudden exit ahead of its milestone 50th season.
The comedian recently explained to fellow SNL alums Dana Carvey and David Spade that she “didn’t really feel like I fit” on the NBC sketch comedy show since her first season as a featured player in 2020, and she now plans to focus on stand-up comedy.
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“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 said on the pair’s Fly on the Wall podcast episode of her initial conversation with her team, who urged that she not quit without a plan.
She ended up sticking around for another season. “I think I got like three or four sketches [in the] first half. And usually I only get maybe two or three on the entire season—so I’m like, ‘Oh man, I’m killing it,'” said Johnson.
Johnson also said that when writer Ben Silva exited the show, she re-evaluated, as they shared a bond. Silva “just knew how to speak Punkie,” she explained. “So if I was telling him something, he knew how to put it in SNL format for me. If I try to put it in SNL format, that’s the hard part.”
“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,” said Johnson, adding: “I just thought everybody else came from standup. 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?”
Meanwhile, Johnson is excited for what’s to come. “Ever since word got out that I’m not going back to the show, my phone and opportunities have not stopped. It’s crazy,” she said.
Shortly after Johnson announced her departure, co-star Molly Kearney also revealed they’re leaving the show after two seasons. SNL alum Maya Rudolph is returning to the show to play Kamala Harris through the 2024 presidential election.
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