Punkie Johnson Explains Her 'SNL' Departure, Says It Didn't Feel Like a 'Fit' for Her
Punkie Johnson opened up about ending her run on Saturday Night Live.
Earlier this month the 39-year-old actress and comedian confirmed that she would not be returning for the 50th season of the show. She was a member of the cast for four seasons.
During a new interview, Punkie explained her decision and said that she didn’t feel like a strong fit for the popular late-night series.
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While on the Fly on the Wall podcast, Punkie explained that she nearly backed out of the show’s most recent season.
“I talked to my team. I was like, ‘Look, I don’t really know if I belong at this job, so maybe I should step away,’” she recalled, via Variety. “But I told them super, super late, like right after I found out I got to go back. And it was like ‘Well Punkie, you need a plan. You can’t just quit your job.’”
The season started out strong for her, and she thought that she was “killing” it with multiple starring roles in skits.
Her writing partner Ben Silva left the show, and she started to second-guess sticking around.
“I didn’t really feel like I fit, like I didn’t feel like that was my zone. That show is for a different type of person,” she said. “I came from standup so I just thought everybody else came from standup. I started having conversations with people and everybody was like, ‘Oh yeah, we went to school for this.’ I’m like, ‘Y’all went to school to be here?’”
Another star recently confirmed that they had departed the show.