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Devon Walker explained why he described Saturday Night Live<\/em> as \u201ctoxic as hell\u201d in an Instagram post<\/a> announcing his departure from the show last month.<\/p>\n In an interview with <\/a>Variety<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0 the comedian explained that the NBC sketch series \u201chasn\u2019t changed much\u201d in the 50 years since its debut. Walker, 34, added that\u00a0\u201cthere is a measure of humanity\u201d that the producers behind the show \u201ccould benefit from.\u201d He then pointed to the casting decisions, which are often left until late summer, just weeks before the season premiere.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat ends up happening over the summer is oftentimes people are left hanging with big life decisions \u2014 people trying to start families or buy homes \u2014 and there\u2019s no word from the show about whether they have their job,\u201d Walker explained. \u201cThe show won\u2019t tell them all summer and then will ultimately end up firing them when there\u2019s been months of them trying to work their situation out.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker clarified that his situation was not like that.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s one thing I hope for the future of the show, it\u2019s that a sprinkle of humanity could be added into it,\u201d he added. \u201cI understand it\u2019s show business and it\u2019s cutthroat, but people have lives, and people deserve to know the status of their job at a reasonable juncture. Most people are told they\u2019re coming back to work in a week.\u201d<\/p>\n On Aug. 25, Walker\u00a0announced his departure<\/a>\u00a0from SNL<\/em> after three seasons. He later\u00a0told\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> it was a mutual decision.<\/p>\n Other departing cast members revealed their exits were not of their own accord. Former cast member Emil Wakim posted to Instagram<\/a> to share that his departure news was \u201ca gut punch of a call to get.\u201d<\/p>\n Three-season veteran Michael Longfellow also hinted he was fired, telling fans on social media,<\/a> \u201cWill not be returning for a 4th season at SNL. Wish I was but, so it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, longtime cast member Heidi Gardner\u2019s contract was reportedly not renewed,\u00a0according to The New Post<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n Remaining SNL<\/em> cast members ahead of Season 51 include Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernandez, Ego Nwodim, James Austin Johnson, Bowen Yang, Sarah Sherman, and featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.<\/p>\n Saturday Night Live<\/em>\u00a0returns to NBC on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n This story was originally reported by Men’s Journal<\/a> on Sep 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Entertainment<\/a> section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\nSeveral \u2018SNL\u2019 Cast Members Were Seemingly Blindsided<\/h2>\n