The end of an era! Cecily Strong<\/strong><\/a> has announced her\u00a0Saturday Night Live<\/i><\/a>\u00a0exit\u00a0after 11 years as a cast member.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a little emo tonight because, [the] truth is, I\u2019m here to say goodbye,\u201d the\u00a0Schmigadoon!\u00a0<\/i>alum, 38, told Michael Che<\/strong><\/a> during the Saturday, December 17, \u201cWeekend Update\u201d<\/a> segment, reprising her character of Cathy Anne.<\/p>\n While Strong\u2019s chain-smoking character noted that she would be going to \u201cprison\u201d for her past actions, it prompted the\u00a0This Will All Be Over Soon\u00a0<\/i>author to reflect on her own comedic tenure on the NBC series<\/a>. \u201cI think it is actually going to give me some much-needed stability,\u201d she quipped to Che, 39. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not just scared because I\u2019ve got friends on the inside, they seem to be doing OK.\u201d<\/p>\n SNL\u00a0<\/i>then flashed images of Aidy Bryant<\/strong> <\/a>and Kate McKinnon<\/strong><\/a>, who both departed\u00a0SNL\u00a0<\/i>during season 47,<\/a> to a roaring round of applause.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s OK, you know? I had a good run,\u201d Strong added on Saturday, joking about her character\u2019s fictional relationship with Che<\/a>. \u201cI met you, we fell in love [and] we made a sex tape. \u2026 And Colin [Jost]<\/strong><\/a>, don\u2019t think I forgot about you. Here\u2019s a pic of you and I doing \u2018Update\u2019 together!\u201d<\/p>\n She continued: \u201cEveryone has to go to jail at some point, right? It\u2019s just my time now, but I had a lot of fun here and I feel really lucky that I got to have so many of the best moments of my life in this place with these people that I love so much. \u2026 \u2018There\u2019s no place like home,\u2019 and there\u2019s no home like the place I\u2019ve gotten to yell outside Michael Che\u2019s window.\u201d<\/p>\n The Emmy Award nominee first joined\u00a0SNL\u00a0<\/i>in 2012, where she was tapped to join former cast member Seth Meyers<\/strong> <\/a>at the \u201cWeekend Update\u201d desk. After Meyers, 48, left the show, she continued to helm the news segment<\/a> alongside Jost, 40. In 2014\u2019s season 40, Strong returned to perform in\u00a0SNL\u00a0<\/i>sketches when Che joined the \u201cWeekend Update\u201d team.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was just the magic of getting to do a live performance because I\u2019m not known for having good aim,\u201d Strong told\u00a0USA Today\u00a0<\/i><\/a>in August 2021 of nailing celebrity impressions on the variety show<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone has ever said that about me before. My favorite thing about doing\u00a0SNL\u00a0<\/i>is those moments of controlled chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n She added at the time: \u201cI love [my sketches]\u00a0\u2018Singing Sisters\u2019 [and] \u2018Debra\u2019s Time.\u2019\u00a0I just went to [Alan Cumming<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s] Club Cumming after the \u2018Schmigadoon\u2019<\/i>\u00a0premiere and one of the guys came up and said, \u2018You know, we sing \u2018Debra\u2019s Time\u2019 here every now and then.\u2019 Hearing that just makes me so happy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n During Strong\u2019s final\u00a0SNL\u00a0<\/i>episode on Saturday, costar Kenan Thompson<\/strong> <\/a>also shared a sweet tribute to his longtime colleague.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t think Radio Shack could have survived this long without Cecily,<\/a>\u201d the\u00a0Kenan & Kel\u00a0<\/i>alum<\/a>, 44, noted in the \u201cBlue Christmas\u201d<\/a> sketch, which saw the cast members play employees at the tech store. \u201cEvery time she came to work, she had a new character or a new accent or a new impression that would blow you away. She\u2019d have a power and a joy to her performance that made you remember why you loved working at Radio Shack in the first place! I know I\u2019m not supposed to say this as your boss, but I love you, Cecily.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson went on to introduce episode host Austin Butler<\/a>,<\/strong> who serenaded Strong with an acoustic rendition of Elvis Presley\u2019s \u201cBlue Christmas.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Saturday Night Live<\/i>\u00a0airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n For more, watch the clip above!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n Anchor Michael Che and Cecily Strong as Cathy Anne during SNL\u2019s \u2018Weekend Update\u2019 on December 17, 2022.<\/span> Will Heath\/NBC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"Cecily](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cecily-strong-exits-saturday-night-live-after-11-seasons-some-of-the-best-moments-of-my-life-inline.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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