Cecily Strong Opens Up on SNL Exit: ‘My Heart Is Bursting’

The departure of Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live came suddenly, as it was announced shortly before the Dec. 17 episode that it would be her final episode on the show. After nine seasons, Strong had become an SNL fan favorite, so the news was considered to be a bummer by many. After taking a couple of days to collect herself, the performer has taken to Instagram to post a statement sharing her thoughts on the situation. She makes it clear that SNL will always be her “home,” but that it’s just become time to move on at this point in her life.

“My heart is bursting. I have a lot of big huge life changing love to unpack, so this is what I can say tonight,” Strong says in the post, sharing a story about how she got lost in the building on her first night there before Colin Jost helped her find the exit.

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“It felt as impossible to leave that night as it does now,” Strong says. “And my great friend Colin Jost ended up helping me again, this time by getting Elvis to sing me off (thank you Austin Butler you absolute kind and generous dreamboat).” I’m sorry I’ve been a little quiet about it publicly. I didn’t want the extra pressure on something already so emotional for me. And I’m so grateful I got to have these wonderful past six shows to help me ease into it and get to meet and laugh and probably overly hug Molly, Marcello, Devon, and Michael who I think are not only brilliantly funny but really great humans.”

She adds, “I am ready to go, but I’ll always know home is here. I’ve had the time of my life working with the greatest people on earth.”

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Cecily Strong Joins Many Other Cast Members Leaving

NBC

Another six shows with Strong is better than having the past six shows without her, so there’s a bright side to having her stick around for a little longer rather than joining the mass cast exodus ahead of the current season. At the end of season 47, it was announced that many major players would be departing, such as Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Alex Moffat, Melissa Villasenor, Aristotle Athari, and Chris Redd. Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson moved up while new cast members include Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.

You can watch past episodes of Saturday Night Live featuring Strong, including her final show on Dec. 17, by streaming the series on Peacock.

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