Punkie Johnson reveals reason for 'SNL' exit: 'I spiraled'

Why Punkie Johnson still has love for Lorne Michaels, even if ‘SNL’ was not her ‘zone’

Punkie Johnson wearing a black suit jacket, black blouse and braids in front of a blue backdrop

Aug. 23, 2024 2:14 PM PT

Punkie Johnson’s relationship with “Saturday Night Live” is “still strong,” even if she won’t be among the cast members returning for its 50th season.

“Mutually, we just understood that it was not my zone,” the stand-up comic said Wednesday, shedding more light on her recent departure.

Johnson, who joined the NBC sketch series in 2020, caught up with fellow “SNL” alums David Spade and Dana Carvey on their “Fly on the Wall” podcast, detailing the circumstances that led to her exit. The “Bottoms” actor, who got her start in stand-up, said she had been meaning to leave the show for quite some time.

Johnson said she always felt out of place on “SNL.” “I never grew up in sketch, I never went to sketch school and I didn’t really feel like I fit,” she said, before adding “[‘SNL’] is for a different type of person.”

The New Orleans comedian said she felt her “all over the place” style differed from the structure that defines “SNL” and its sketches. When she joined the cast, she said, she thought “everybody else came from stand-up.” That wasn’t always the case.

“Y’all went to school for this? To be here?,” she recalled thinking at the time.

Johnson said she struggled with getting ample airtime, noting that at one point she “only [got] maybe two or three [sketches] on the entire season.” With more than 20 cast members, “SNL” has “a lot of mouths to feed,” Johnson agreed with the podcast hosts.

Feeling unsure about whether she belonged, Johnson said she wanted to leave “SNL” before Season 49. Her team persuaded her to stay on: “ ‘Well, Punkie, you need a plan. You can’t just quit your job.’ ”

“SNL” Season 49 was off to a “tremendous” start for Johnson. With the help of writer Ben Silva, the comedian said, she landed three or four sketches in the first half of the season. This had her thinking, “Oh man, I’m killing it. Like, this is my season.” She said Silva helped translate her ideas into sketch material, joking, “he knew how to speak Punkie.”

After Silva left “SNL” to focus on his personal life, Johnson said she “spiraled” and reconsidered her role on the series. Johnson announced in late July during a comedy show that she would not return to “SNL.”

“I opened up the floor for questions, and everything was going fine until somebody asked, ‘What are you looking forward to most next season?,’ ” Johnson said in an Instagram video posted Aug. 1. “I ain’t gonna lie to my friends, so I just said, ‘Oh, I ain’t coming back.’ ”

Johnson said she has since received offers to audition for and work on new projects, including a movie and a special.

After breaking the exit news, Johnson said she thanked “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels for the opportunity. The comedy legend has been “super supportive” and is one of the “only four men in this business who’s really believed in me.”

“He’s just my guy,” Johnson said.

Two years after joining “SNL,” Johnson achieved repertory status in 2022. She became the eighth Black woman to be a cast member on the show. She also became the second Black LGBTQ+ woman cast member after comedian Danitra Vance, who was not out during her tenure in the mid-1980s.

Johnson follows up her “SNL” career with her Childish & Petty tour with comedian Dicey.