Saturday Night Live fans were both excited and confused when former cast member Punkie Johnson showed up on stage for goodnights at last month’s Charli XCX-hosted SNL. Now Johnson’s sharing the story behind her surprise appearance.
The comedian recounted what led to her 8H return during an in-depth interview with LateNighter’s podcast partner, the Saturday Night Network, on Monday.
According to Johnson, she was in the middle of an “old people weekend” with visiting family. Having just seen the Rockettes at neighboring Radio City Music Hall, Johnson’s fam asked her if she could get them into the live taping of SNL. While they were in the audience watching the show, Johnson was hanging out backstage—but that was all she planned to do.
Johnson had joked that she’d go up onstage for the goodnights, but never seriously considered it. “I’m not about to piss Lorne off, you know?” she explained.
As the cast took the stage at the end of the episode, Johnson was watching from the wings. She happened to make eye contact with Lorne Michaels, who signaled for her to—as Johnson described it—“get your ass up there.”
Thank you, @charli_xcx, @AlecBaldwin @DanaCarvey, @KyleMooney, @thelonelyisland, and Julia Fox! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/1Mkw8BNJk4
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 17, 2024
While Johnson ended her run at SNL only months ago, she was clearly happy to make a return visit.
“And it was Lorne’s birthday,” she told SNN. “So the timing of it—I would never miss Lorne’s birthday.”
Johnson left SNL before the start of Season 50, having spent four years on the show. She shared the details of her exit with the SNN, explaining that “it was a firing and a quitting at the same time.”
