Saturday Night Live's Punkie Johnson Says She's Leaving Ahead Of Season 50

At least one name will be missing from Saturday Night Live's opening credits when it returns this fall.

SNL cast member Punkie Johnson has announced that she won't be returning to the NBC sketch comedy series for Season 50.

"After four seasons, I will not be returning to SNL for the 50th," she said in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday. Adding that there was "no bad blood," "no bridges burnt," and "no hurt feelings," she shared that "SNL was a dream I didn't even know I could achieve. I was part of one of the most elite institutions in comedy, and I'm so grateful for it... But my time there has come to an end."

Johnson appeared to have first broken the news during a comedy show performance on July 31. In a post on X, an attendee at the show wrote, "Punkie is leaving SNL, she said this was fine to share online so I guess twitter is the first to know. It definitely wasn't a joke either like she's actually gone and she's very happy about it."

Per the audience member, Johnson explained that issues at SNL "sort of started when she was told to lose her dreads and stop getting buff." No other details are currently available.

Reps for Johnson and NBC have not yet responded to TVLine's requests for comment.

Johnson has been part of the SNL cast since Season 46, when she joined as a featured player. She was then promoted to repertory player ahead of Season 48. News of Johnson's exit comes amid reports that Maya Rudolph will once again portray Vice President (and presumed Democratic presidential nominee) Kamala Harris on SNL this fall; Johnson played Harris once during Season 49, and it had been speculated that she might fill the role again in Season 50 if Rudolph were unavailable.

Will you miss Johnson on SNL? Tell us in a comment below.