USA Today
usatoday.com › story › entertainment › tv › 2025 › 10 › 28 › snl-heidi-gardner-ego-nwodim-reunion › 86943960007
Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner get emotional in reunion after shock 'SNL' exits
October 28, 2025 - "…In a place where it can get so competitive and you can become so self-involved, if you can leave and be still remarkably lovely and such a light and still pouring into other people, I think you succeeded. That's what I think success is there, and you did that a million times over." Ego Nwodim says 'goodnight' to 'SNL,' exits show after 7 seasons · Gardner, meanwhile, told Nwodim she is "so honored" to have worked with her.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/livefromnewyork › bowen yang speaks out after heidi gardner's surprising 'snl' exit: "a true anchor on that show"
r/LiveFromNewYork on Reddit: Bowen Yang speaks out after Heidi Gardner's surprising 'SNL' exit: "A true anchor on that show"
September 10, 2025 - I'm one of the bigger Heidi fans in the subreddit, but 7 years plus a grace year for being part of SNL50 is like a perfect run. ... It's sad to see her go, and she clearly still has gas in the tank, but she goes out on top. So a strong exit, and she had a good long run, and leaves as one of the top all time women comics on the show with a great highlight reel.
Apologies for Being Late to the Party, but.. Heidi Gardner Was Let Go/Fired?
Heidi was let go/"fired", and Ego left. Both after the season had completed (which is why neither got a proper goodbye). Bowen decided to leave mid-season and his timing allowed for a proper goodbye More on reddit.com
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4 days agoDana Carvey Shocks David Spade With Juicy Detail On Heidi Gardner’s Reported ‘SNL’ Exit
Looking forward to the inevitable documentary about how toxic Lorne and the environment of SNL are. More on reddit.com
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June 30, 2025Bowen Yang speaks out after Heidi Gardner's surprising 'SNL' exit: "A true anchor on that show"
Bowen: "You [Heidi] are one of the greats. You will go down in history." The Wicked actor went on to recall some of his favorite memories of his former colleague, noting that she was one of the cast members whom the SNL team trusted the most to write quality sketches on her own. "It's always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it. But anytime you saw just 'Gardner,' you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast." Yang explained that Gardner once wrote a "Weekend Update" segment for Punkie Johnson, who departed the show in 2024. "It was one of the most beautiful, kindest gestures I've ever seen at that show, and her heart was so big, and clearly so f‑‑‑ing funny. A true anchor on that show." The comedian also said that Gardner helped the cast and crew lift their spirits during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. "[She was] one of the first people who was just like, 'Okay, just to get through this, let's just each wake up, no rush, there's no time limit — let's just each text each other every day, something that made us smile today. And that was this foothold that I had emotionally in terms of knowing we were just sharing music and — just a truly beautiful person." More on reddit.com
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September 10, 2025Disappointed that Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim didn’t get a proper farewell
I like them, but I think the concept of a farewell is bigger in people's minds presently then it has been historically More on reddit.com
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September 21, 2025Videos
05:39
Heidi Gardner Exits Saturday Night Live - YouTube
00:17
The Shocking Reason Why Heidi Gardner Quit SNL After 8 Seasons…
03:08
Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner CRY TOGETHER After SNL Exits - YouTube
Breaking news: A long time SNL veteran is leaving the show ...
01:59
Heidi Gardner LEAVING SNL After 8 Seasons: What Other Changes Are ...
02:34
Heidi Gardner out at ‘SNL’ amid string of cast, writer departures ...
IMDb
imdb.com › news › ni65471138
Why Did Heidi Gardner Leave SNL? Every Major Star Who Quit the Show in 2025 - IMDb
Speaking on Joy, a podcast by Craig Ferguson, she revealed her reasons for leaving the roster before the new season, saying: I will say the only thing that I’ve started to feel a little bit is just sketch fatigue or idea fatigue.
CNN
cnn.com › 2025 › 08 › 28 › entertainment › snl-heidi-gardner-michael-longfellow-exit
Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow are also leaving ‘SNL’ | CNN
August 29, 2025 - Longfellow was on “SNL” for three seasons. ... Heidi Gardner, a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” will not return for Season 51, CNN confirmed. Gardner is the fourth cast member, alongside Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim, to recently leave the iconic sketch show on NBC.
Variety
variety.com › 2025 › tv › news › heidi-gardner-ego-nwodim-not-easy-snl-exit-1236564160
Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim on 'Challenging' Environment at 'SNL'
October 29, 2025 - Later in the discussion, Nwodim said it can be challenging to feel like the “SNL” cast is “winning together,” which, among other reasons, makes the show “not the easiest place to work.” However, she praised Gardner for being “such a light in what can be such a challenging place.” · She added, “But I’m like, if you can leave — in a place where it can get so competitive and you can become so self involved, if you can leave and be still remarkably lovely and such a light and still pouring into other people like you, I think you succeeded.”
Entertainment Weekly
ew.com › heidi-gardner-first-role-after-snl-exit-11832152
Heidi Gardner lands first role after surprise 'SNL' exit — among other comedy greats
October 17, 2025 - Live from New York, it's Heidi Gardner ... on Broadway. The Saturday Night Live alum has landed her first role since her surprise exit from the NBC comedy series. Gardner will star in Broadway's All Out: Comedy About Ambition alongside some major comedy legends, as first reported by PEOPLE. The new play from former SNL writer Simon Rich will also star Jon Stewart, Ray Romano, and many more A-list comedians who will rotate in groups of four through the 12-week limited run, reading the author's hilarious stories about ambition, ego, envy, greed — "basically just New Yorkers in general," according to the official press release.
Yahoo!
yahoo.com › yahoo entertainment › tv
The real reason behind Heidi Gardner’s shocking ‘SNL’ exit revealed
September 4, 2025 - Gardner’s fellow castmates exiting “SNL” ahead of season 51 include Michael Longfellow (pictured here), Emil Wakim and Devon Walker. Holland Rainwater/NBC via Getty Images · “From what I know as of this recording, that it was not her idea to leave,” Carvey said.
The Daily Beast
thedailybeast.com › obsessed › heidi-gardner-lands-splashy-new-gig-after-shock-snl-exit
Heidi Gardner Lands Splashy New Gig After Shock ‘SNL’ Exit
October 16, 2025 - The show is being produced by SNL boss Lorne Michaels and will also star Eric Andre, Jim Gaffigan, Wayne Brady, and Sarah Silverman. The announcement comes after Gardner was reportedly not asked to return for SNL‘s 51st season, despite starring on the show for eight seasons.
Deadline
deadline.com › 2025 › 10 › heidi-gardner-ego-nwodim-snl-exits-1236601338
Heidi Gardner & Ego Nwodim Call 'SNL' A "Challenging Place" To Work
October 29, 2025 - Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim exited Saturday Night Live ahead of the Season 51 premiere on NBC. Gardner had been on the late-night sketch show for eight seasons while Nwodim, who was initially expected to return, announced her exit following seven seasons. The SNL alum recently recalled their time on the show, revealing it was a “challenging place” to work.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/livefromnewyork › apologies for being late to the party, but.. heidi gardner was let go/fired?
r/LiveFromNewYork on Reddit: Apologies for Being Late to the Party, but.. Heidi Gardner Was Let Go/Fired?
4 days ago -
Hello everyone.. I’m an SNL lover who hasn’t been following very closely for the last couple of seasons due to life reasons (most of them not bad at all, but just time-consuming)
Today while browsing the feed, I came across an article elsewhere on Reddit that suggested that part of the reason for Bowen’s abrupt midseason exit (aside from simply being busy and overwoked, which is understandable) was that he was upset with Heidi being fired.
Since I haven’t been following closely, I was a bit surprised. I had assumed that Heidi was just growing busy with other things (I see her in a lot of commercials, etc. now, which is nice!) and that she was ready to move on. But I am seeing now that perhaps she wanted to stay and wasn’t given the green light.
So for those of you who are following closely: would you be willing to fill me in on what happened with Heidi, and ELI5 for me? Did the Heidi situation also affect Ego? (I remember some being surprised by the timing of her exit announcement as well)
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Heidi was let go/"fired", and Ego left. Both after the season had completed (which is why neither got a proper goodbye). Bowen decided to leave mid-season and his timing allowed for a proper goodbye
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Bowen’s “abrupt” exit: You mean the one that’s been discussed here for the past month and a half? Every summer the entire cast either gets rehired or let go. No one is guaranteed a spot season to season. But as far as I’m aware neither SNL nor Heidi or Ego has made any public statement about why they don’t return, so anything you’ve seen is pure speculation by people who are in no position to actually know.
Daily Mail
dailymail.co.uk › tvshowbiz › article-15235597 › Heidi-Gardner-Ego-Nwodim-firing-SNL.html
Ex-SNL stars break silence on show's 'challenging' workplace amid firing bloodbath and mass cast exodus | Daily Mail Online
October 28, 2025 - While appearing on Nwodim's Thanks Dad podcast, Gardner, 42, tearfully opened up about her time on the show as she admitted SNL was a difficult environment. 'I am so honored that we worked so hard there, and then we also worked on our friendship ...
USA Today
usatoday.com › story › entertainment › tv › 2025 › 09 › 11 › bowen-yang-snl-departures-heidi-gardner › 86090623007
Bowen Yang speaks out on 'SNL' departures, Heidi Gardner exit
September 11, 2025 - Unlike other exiting "SNL" cast members, though, Gardner has not released a statement addressing the news. It isn't clear whether it was her decision to leave.
NPR
npr.org › 2025 › 08 › 29 › nx-s1-5522032 › snl-cast-departures-season-51-ego-nwodim-heidi-gardner
SNL's Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner are among the stars leaving the show
September 15, 2025 - Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets also confirmed in late August that Heidi Gardner is leaving the show after eight seasons. ... It is customary for cast members to announce their exit when a season ends in the spring or before a new one begins in the fall. The show's much-hyped 50th season — celebrated with a series of star-studded events, from a homecoming concert to a prime-time special — ended with plenty of fan speculation but no explicit cast announcements. SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels, who has the final say over hiring and firing decisions, told Puck last week that with the golden anniversary now in the rearview, it's time to shake things up.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Heidi_Gardner
Heidi Gardner - Wikipedia
1 week ago - By the time of season 47, which ... cast members from her first season were still there. This was due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing those senior cast members from leaving the show earlier....
NBC News
nbcnews.com › pop-culture › pop-culture-news › who-not-returning-snl-season-51-rcna227919
Here's who won't be returning for 'SNL' Season 51
“I have decided to leave SNL. I am immensely grateful to Lorne for the opportunity; to my castmates, the writers, and the crew for their brilliance, support, and friendship.” · With her Saturdays now off, she joked, "now invite me to your weddings please!" Nwodim played a wide breadth of "SNL" characters and in recent years had drawn laughs from the wildly confident, well-done-steak-loving “Lisa from Temecula.” · Gardner won't be returning after an epic eight-year run on the "Saturday Night Live" stage, NBC News has learned.
Published October 5, 2025
The Economic Times
economictimes.indiatimes.com › business news › news › international › us news
What forced Heidi Gardner to leave SNL after eight years ahead of the 51st season - The Economic Times
August 29, 2025 - Heidi Gardner hinted at "sketch fatigue" and "idea fatigue" as reasons for her departure, explaining that after years of writing and performing sketches, the creative demands started to feel challenging despite her love for playing characters.
People
people.com › heidi-gardner-leaves-snl-after-eight-seasons-11735082
Heidi Gardner Leaves 'SNL' After 8 Seasons
August 28, 2025 - In a February 2025 interview with Craig Ferguson, Gardner said she was still enjoying her time on SNL, but admitted that the only thing she had "started to feel a little bit is just sketch fatigue, or idea fatigue."
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Big Stars Are Leaving SNL. Here's Why - YouTube
August 2025 saw a few major shakeups in the "Saturday Night Live" roster. One of the outgoing stars was as blindsided by the news that they were leaving as e...
Published September 4, 2025
Reddit
reddit.com › r/entertainment › dana carvey shocks david spade with juicy detail on heidi gardner’s reported ‘snl’ exit
r/entertainment on Reddit: Dana Carvey Shocks David Spade With Juicy Detail On Heidi Gardner’s Reported ‘SNL’ Exit
June 30, 2025 - What career is left for an SNL alumni? 16 episodes of an FX original comedy that pays $200k total over the course of three years? Sixth lead in an Adam Sandler straight-to-Netflix movie? Have a podcast? There’s a reason nobody leaves voluntarily. More replies ... Kinda a Taran Killam situation for me if true. Heidi is more over than he was imo.
Variety
variety.com › 2025 › tv › news › heidi-gardner-leaving-snl-1236501384
Heidi Gardner Leaving 'SNL' After Eight Seasons
August 28, 2025 - Gardner marks the latest example of a roster refresh happening at Studio 8H. Walker announced his departure from “SNL” on Instagram on Aug. 25, writing, “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell.