Pay no mind to those headlines—or rather, pay very close attention to the wording of those headlines. Bowen Yang says he has no actual plans to leave Saturday Night Live.
The SNL star clarified recent headlines about his departure in an interview on The View today, telling the show’s hosts he “will not be leaving anytime soon.”
“The headline is, and I quote, ‘I’m leaving the show at some point,’ Yang pointed out, referring to a story published by People. “It’s like me saying that I might die someday, [or] I might go get a coffee on a Wednesday. It’s so general.”
“Someone asked me, trying to maybe glean a headline,” Yang added. “And all I gave them was ‘at some point.’”
“But anyway,” he concluded to set the record straight, “this is all to say that I will not be leaving anytime soon. So all good. Don’t worry.” The View‘s audience applauded the news.
Yang first joined SNL as a writer in 2018. He was elevated to cast member the following year, making this his sixth season as a cast member. He’s currently doing the promotional rounds for his starring role in the new film The Wedding Banquet, which hit theaters last Friday.
As is usually the case at the end of an SNL season, speculation is ramping up about who may or may not be departing the cast ahead of Season 51. Colin Jost and Michael Che have been the subjects of some of this year’s more persistent rumors, with today’s news that Jost’s wife Scarlett Johansson will be hosting the Season 50 finale only adding fuel to the fire.
