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Last week, we reported on some surprising cast shakeups at Saturday Night Live.
In the space of a few days, four cast members — Emil Wakim, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner — announced that they would not be returning for the sketch show’s 51st season.
Of all the departures, Gardner’s was the most surprising, as she had grown into a fan favorite and developed a reputation as an imminently reliable performer during her eight seasons on the cast.
Now, we’re learning more about what went down between SNL and its longest-tenured female star. And it sounds like the two did not part on amicable terms.
Dana Carvey shares new intel about recent ‘SNL’ bloodbath
Appearing on David Spade’s podcast this week, SNL alum Dana Carvey shared what he knew about the surprising Gardiner situation.
“From what I know as of this recording, it was not her idea to leave,” Carvey said, adding that he “could be wrong.”
“That would be a little shocking,” Spade replied, “because she really is one of the core ones you know from that show and she does a great job.”
“You never know, and it is a hard thing, but I was really, really surprised,” Carvey agreed.
The veteran comics also spoke about the other dismissed cast members, with Carvey revealing that he had spoken with Walker about his struggles on the show.
Rumors of toxic, hyper-competitive environment at ‘SNL’ persist
“Devon had told me that when you don’t get on the show a lot,” Carvey said.
“Then when you get out there and you have a moment, you’re not relaxed because it’s like, if you don’t score here, you go back in line. So, it can be emotionally violent depending where you are in the show or it could be a magic ride.”
When addressing his termination on Instagram, Walker conceded that the environment at SNL was sometimes “toxic.”
For his part, Longfellow reportedly seemed “super bummed” when discussing his SNL departure during a recent standup performance in Brooklyn.
“He was downcast. He was trying to hide it, but you could tell it sucked for him,” one audience member told The Daily Beast.
Another person who attended claimed on Reddit that Longfellow bemoaned the fact that he was fired so publicly.
“My neighbor knows I’m fired,” he reportedly said on stage. “I don’t actually know my neighbor. He doesn’t know me. But he knows I’m fired.”
Earlier this week, SNL announced the hiring of five new cast members to replace the stars who will not be returning.
Gardner, Longfellow, Walker, and Wakim are all wildly talented performers, and we’re sure they have bright futures ahead of them.
But getting fired always sucks. And being unceremoniously dismissed from such a vaunted institution as Saturday Night Live has really gotta sting.
