Cecily Strong Can’t Watch ‘SNL’ Now That It Doesn’t Star Cecily Strong

The longest-tenured female cast member in the history of Saturday Night Live shares the longest-grumbled gripe of its fanbase — she just can’t stand to watch SNL anymore.

Cecily Strong left SNL back in December in the middle of her 11th season on the sketch comedy monolith. Since Strong concluded her decade-and-change career on comedy’s biggest stage, she’s appeared on numerous podcasts and late-night shows to share her favorite memories from humor’s most daunting institution, down to the secret elevators that they don’t tell the rookies about. With her musical comedy series Schmigadoon! back on the air for its second season, Strong is back on the talk-show circuit, where every Andy Cohen and his brother want to know more about her thoughts and feelings toward SNL now that she’s an audience member like the rest of us.

However, as Strong revealed on Watch What Happens Live!, there’s just one problem — on Saturday nights, she’s not tuning in. “I have to admit, it’s hard for me to watch the show right now,” she revealed. Anyone who has ever left a food-service gig can probably connect to this choice on weekend nonparticipation — maybe she wants a single goddamn Saturday night to herself for once.

“I think next year I can start watching it,” Strong assured her host. “It’s just such a big part of my life, and there’s so many people that I love there.” Comparing her resignation to a breakup with a long-term boyfriend, Strong said, “I feel like I would just be in a swamp of sadness, just my heart would break (if I watched). So I gotta keep my distance.”

Remember, Cecily — if Lorne Michaels calls late at night “just to talk,” hang up. Don’t let him make you look like a clown again.