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Heidi Gardner Is 4th ‘SNL’ Cast Member to Leave Amid ‘Toxic’ Claims Ahead of Season 51
Heidi Gardner is the fourth cast member to exit Saturday Night Live ahead of the upcoming 51st season. Her departure followed Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow.
Gardner, 42, first landed on SNL as a featured player in 2017 after two years with The Groundlings, and in 2019, she became part of the main cast. While the former hairstylist-turned-improv-star has yet to comment on leaving the show, earlier this year she admitted that she had “sketch fatigue.”
“I love playing characters, so I can’t really imagine a world where I’m going to get to do this to this degree again. I will say the only thing I’ve started to feel is a little bit of sketch fatigue or idea fatigue,” Gardner said during a February appearance on Craig Ferguson’s podcast.
Gardner’s exit came just days after Walker, 34, who also left ahead of season 51, described his experience at SNL as “toxic at times.”
However, fans were expecting some changes to be made to the cast after the end of season 50 as creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels revealed that there would be shakeups during an interview with Puck News on August 22.
Saturday Night Live season 51 will premiere on October 4.
