‘SNL’ Alum Hints That Popular Cast Member Heidi Gardner Was Asked To Leave for Season 51

Heidi Gardner’s exit from Saturday Night Live may not have been her idea, according to a former cast member from the NBC sketch series.

On hisFly on the Wall podcast with David Spade on Sept. 3, SNL veteran Dana Carvey said of Gardner, “From what I know as of this recording, it was not her idea to leave. Now I could be wrong about that, but that’s what I [read].”

Spade noted that the thought of Gardner being fired from the show was “a little shocking because she really is one of the core ones from that show, and she does a great job.”

“You never know, and it is a hard thing, but I was really, really surprised,” Carvey said. “I think she’s got a likability of, she can play real, straight newswoman, serious. She can play big, broad, funny physical. So I was surprised by that. She has finished a full eight seasons, which is which is right up there, you know.”

On Aug. 28, Vulture reported that Gardner, 42, would exit SNL ahead of Season 51. Other departing cast members include Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and Michael Longfellow.

Ben Marshall, Veronika Slowikowska, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, and Kam Patterson are joining SNL for Season 51.

Heidi Gardner Dropped Hints About Leaving ‘SNL’

Gardner, who first joined SNL as a featured player in 2017, was the show’s longest-running female cast member. While she has not publicly commented on her departure from the show, the comedian had dropped hints that she was ready for something new.

In February, Gardner told Craig Ferguson’s Joy podcast that things had gotten a “little tough” for her in the writers’ room. “I will say the only thing that I’ve started to feel a little bit is just sketch fatigue, or idea fatigue,” she said at the time. “At this point, after doing Groundlings and SNL for so long, I’m like, ‘I’ve written a lot of sketches.’”

“I know whatever I do next, I’d love to have a show that I co-star in and co-write, and it’s a character and it’s a world,” she added. “And it’s a character I get to live in for a while and explore more.”

Gardner did take on other roles during her time on SNL. She had a recurring role as Grace on the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, and appeared in Adam Sandler’s Netflix basketball film Hustle,per IMDb. In 2024, Gardner also served as a judge on the competition series Second Chance Stage on HBO Max.

This story was originally reported by Men’s Journal on Sep 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.