Ego Nwodim On SNL Exit & Hopes For Extra Black Girls In Solid

Ego Nwodim opened up about her surprising exit from Saturday Evening Dwell and her hopes for the sketch comedy present going ahead. SNL has solely had eight Black feminine forged members throughout its total 50+ years on the air: Nwodim, Maya Rudolph, Sasheer Zamata, Leslie Jones, Punkie Johnson, Yvonne Hudson, Danitra Vance and Ellen Cleghorne.

Nwodim’s exit means there are not any Black girls within the present forged.

Nwodim appeared on Sherri this week and mirrored on her time on SNL. She admitted (through Selection) that whereas she did not really feel the “weight” of what her casting meant for illustration on SNL, she “felt honored” to be solely the seventh Black girl within the forged (Johnson joined two years later).

The SNL alum represented a “myriad of characters, various kinds of characters.” She claimed that typically folks did not catch the “nuance” she delivered to the sketches she appeared in, however she left with a way of accomplishment, which was “actually necessary” to her.

When requested about her causes for leaving, Nwodim felt like 2025 was the correct time to “make area” for a brand new starting in her life. She in contrast the job to a wedding and added that SNL was her “longest relationship” she’s ever had. The comic continued the comparability by saying she’s able to “date different folks,” referring to her profession.

Enthusiastic about the truth that SNL at the moment lacks an necessary demographic, Nwodim revealed that she hopes that extra Black girls be a part of the present sooner or later.

I don’t know that I’d name it weight. I felt honored to be the seventh Black girl in that forged. I hope that there shall be extra Black girls. Punkie Johnson got here on the present after me. Who is aware of who else they’ll discover as they discover and search out different abilities?

I do imagine I represented a myriad of characters, various kinds of characters. Some folks didn’t all the time catch that nuance, however I do really feel like I acquired the prospect to signify and that was actually necessary to me.

It’s like being in a wedding. I’ve by no means carried out it earlier than, however that present was my longest relationship ever. I’m not a commitment-phobe, however I heard if you’re married, you get the seven-year itch. And it’s like, I wanna date different folks! I wanna see another privates! It felt just like the time to create space for one thing else for me.

SNL season 51 is not the one season that handled a disaster when there have been no Black girls within the forged. The present got here below intense backlash over a decade in the past when confronted with the identical scenario. SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels ended up hiring Zamata in 2014 because of the criticism.

Jones joined SNL across the similar time as a author and began making on-air appearances. After receiving a optimistic reception from viewers, she ultimately turned a forged member.

Earlier than Zamata, there have been no Black girls within the forged for a number of years after Rudolph’s 2007 departure. Within the Eighties and Nineties, there have been related gaps. Hudson was on SNL from 1980 to 1981, Vance joined in 1985 and left in 1986, and Cleghorne was on the present for a number of seasons from 1991 to 1995.

SNL season 51 employed Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. Solely one in every of them is Black, and there is just one girl among the many newbies.

None of them are Black girls, which places SNL again into territory they confronted earlier than Zamata. Nevertheless, a number of media corporations and networks have been shying away from variety efforts in latest months, so there won’t be a need at NBC to rectify this problem anytime quickly, until the political winds change in just a few years.

Saturday Evening Dwell airs Saturdays at 11:29 p.m. EST on NBC.