Bowen Yang’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ Exit Is ‘Personal’ to Lorne Michaels: ‘He Holds Grudges’

Bowen Yang shocked everyone with his sudden departure from Saturday Night Live — but it seems no one was more stunned than creator Lorne Michaels.

According to Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack post published on Tuesday, December 30, the 81-year-old producer was not too happy with the Wicked star’s decision to free up his Saturday night schedule.

“You don’t leave SNL unless Lorne thinks you should,” one longtime Studio 8H insider told Shuter. “Bowen broke the cardinal rule.”

Following the 35-year-old’s final bow on Saturday, December 20, Yang said in a lengthy Instagram post that he was “grateful for every minute of my time there” and thanked Michaels for the job.

Still, a source told Shuter, “To Lorne, this is personal. He holds grudges. Long ones. Bowen is dead to him.”

The Naughty But Nice Substack reported that Michaels and NBC even offered Yang some serious cash — along with perks like more flexibility — to stay, but Yang still decided it was time to walk away.

“Lorne doesn’t get told no,” said a source. “And he never forgives it.”

An insider also told Shuter that at the wrap party for Yang’s last show, Michaels would not sit at the same table as the Fire Island actor, claiming, “He literally wouldn’t acknowledge Bowen in front of the staff.”

Yang, who is riding high off the two-part musical hit Wicked, thinks that his “success would protect him” following his exit, said a source. “It won’t.”

The actor — who joined the sketch comedy show as a writer in 2018, became a featured player in 2019 and was promoted to regular cast member in 2021 — has a slate of TV and film projects lined up.

“I loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people,” he wrote in his goodbye note on Instagram. “I was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile.”