Saturday Night Live: Cecily Strong on leaving the show
In a new post on Instagram yesterday, Strong made it clear that she wanted to come back for a stretch to prepare for the goodbye. We also tend to think that SNL wanted this, as well, given that there were so many departures earlier this year. She also shared a funny anecdote about her early days on the job, plus also being sent off by host Butler as Elvis:
Ten and a half years ago I got my dream job. The first actual work day I tried to be very cool and make it look like I knew what i was doing and I was supposed to be there. I left that night around 11 after saying goodbye to everyone. I got stuck wandering around the building because none of the elevators went to the first floor and I was trying so hard to avoid having to go back upstairs to ask for help because I’d already said goodbye!!! I think I went to every floor trying to figure out if there was another exit I was missing. I might have even gone into a stairwell. I ended up going back upstairs and my soon-to-be great friend Colin Jost helped me out and walked me over to the secret night time elevator. It felt as impossible to leave that night as it does now. And my great friend Colin Jost ended up helping me again, this time by getting Elvis to sing me off (thank you Austin Butler you absolute kind and generous dreamboat). I’m sorry I’ve been a little quiet about it publicly. I didn’t want the extra pressure on something already so emotional for me. And I’m so grateful I got to have these wonderful past six shows to help me ease into it and get to meet and laugh and probably overly hug Molly, Marcello, Devon, and Michael who I think are not only brilliantly funny but really great humans. I am ready to go, but I’ll always know home is here. I’ve had the time of my life working with the greatest people on earth.
Strong, like so many other cast members before her, is leaving in order to further embrace her horizons and a flurry of other opportunities. She’s already given so much to this world, and we do think there’s a chance she will come back down the road as a guest or in a cameo form. We wish nothing but the best for her, and she honestly is one of the most consistently funny people in this generation.
How sad are you to be losing Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live?
Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, come back for all sorts of other insight. (Photo: NBC.)