Ego Nwodim stunned fans in September when she announced she was leaving Saturday Night Live. Now the comedian is explaining why she decided to move on.
Nwodim spilled her own tea, on her own time during the Nov. 5 episode of Sherri.
When host Sherri Shepherd asked when she knew it was time to leave SNL, Nwodim compared her departure to a breakup.
“It’s like being in a marriage,” she replied. “I’ve never done it before, but that show was my longest relationship ever. I’m not a commitment-phobe, but I heard when you’re married, you get the seven-year itch. And it’s like, ‘I wanna date other people! I wanna see some other privates!'”
As Shepherd laughed, Nwodim quipped: “Am I allowed on daytime TV? See, I’m usually live at night.”
The comedian announced her exit from the NBC sketch series via an Instagram Story on Sept. 12.
She assured Shepherd life is good, saying she now has her first house and there are no hard feelings.
“I truly did learn so much there and I had so much fun. I miss my colleagues, but it felt like the time to make space for something else for me,” she said.
Although the SNL alum noted she would like to see another Black female comedian on the show, which in five decades has only invited eight Black women to join the cast.
That group includes Yvonne Hudson for one season in 1980 and Danitra Vance in 1985. Ellen Cleghorne was on the show from 1991 to 1995, Maya Rudolph was a cast member from 2000 to 2007, Sasheer Zamata from 2014 to 2017, Leslie Jones from 2014 to 2019, Punkie Johnson from 2020 to 2024, and Nwodim from 2018 to 2025.
“I hope that there will be more Black women. Punkie Johnson came on the show after me. Who knows who else they’ll find as they explore and seek out other talents, but I felt honored to represent for us,” she told Shepherd.
She added, “And I do believe I represented a myriad of characters, different types of characters — some people didn’t always catch that nuance, but I do feel like I got the chance to represent and that was really important to me.”
Right now, Nwodim is prepping a New York City comedy show at Lincoln Center, from Nov. 19 to Nov. 23.
According to her IMDb page, she also has a role in the upcoming film Little Brother alongside John Cena and Christopher Meloni, and a part in the upcoming Hulu comedy series Not Suitable for Work.
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