Sam Amico
Melissa Villaseñor is one of three cast members who won’t be returning for Season 48 of Saturday Night Live. The SNL alumn went on to reveal why she decided to leave the show.
Videos by Rare
“Oh my sweetie fans, my Melissa monsters, I know ‘thas sah’ me leaving the show, but! I felt this was my soul telling me it’s time to spread my wings,” Villaseñor tweeted. “Lots more for me to dig in and discover. What an honor to experience my kid dream… forever grateful.”
Melissa Villaseñor on Twitter
Villaseñor joins Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari as entertainers who won’t be back. She said plenty of people have asked her what’s next.
“I am gonna be proud for a while, travel, enjoy life, do more volunteer work, spend time with my family,” she said. “From there art blooms.”
Villaseñor joined SNL in 2016 for the 42nd season. She was a regular on Weekend Update and became known for her many impressions — including Gwen Stefani, Owen Wilson, Lady Gaga, Sarah Silverman, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fellow comedian John Mulaney.
A premiere date for Season 48 of the show hasn’t been announced yet. The announcement of the cast members’ exit comes after Saturday Night Live Veterans Pete Davidson, Kyle Money, Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon also left the show.
Rumors of Villaseñor’s exit started to circulate in August after she shared a stream of SNL photos and videos on her Instagram story. The behind-the-scene photos and videos culminated with the words “The End.” She went on to announce a fall standup tour with several dates spanning from October through November.
The returning cast for season 48 includes Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Andrew Dismukes, Michael Che, Heidi Garner, Chris Redd, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, James Austin Johnson, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, and Punkie Johnson.
