Is Lorne Michaels Really Only Getting Rid of the Hot ‘SNL’ Cast Members?

I like to imagine that Lorne Michaels is opening up this article with the kind of huff and eye-roll typically reserved for a 13-year-old girl who isn’t afraid to yell at her parents. “Hot people?” he mutters under his breath. “Who gives a fuck?” Decades of dedicated myth-building to become one of the most powerful people in comedy, and now there are hordes of people with appalling screen-time stats accusing the television legend of being “allergic to serving.” 

But that’s where we’re at after the departures of both Emil Wakim and Devon Walker on Saturday Night Live. Not only are the first announced departures both people of color, but according to the innumerable comments across X and Instagram, both were also crucial to the Very Hot score on SNL. Their departure has been seen as a personal attack to everyone who developed parasocial relationships with the comedians. 

Don’t believe me? Here are a few sample posts from X:

For those counting, just from the tweets above, that’s one death threat to Michaels, a fantasy casting and a guy who goes by “Mr. Bitches” judging the SNL machine’s decision-making. 

And sure, Michaels probably isn’t turning to “Mr. Bitches” on X for insight on how he’s going to cast for Season 51. But the internet sentiment has gone beyond a few fringe thirst posters. When Walker first debuted on Weekend Update, the TikTok comment section was filled with statements like “don’t let kim k see this man” and “NBC made him in the same lab they made Pete Davidson in.”

In the comment section of Walker’s official departure post, one person wrote, “Lorne Michaels cough in 3 days.” While on Wakim’s post, another person opined, “no what they just lost their hottest cast member.” If you feel like scrolling, you can find dozens and dozens of comments just like this. It’s one of those online experiences that’s a perfect mixture of depressing and funny.

Already, the calls for both comedians to be cast in romcoms has been fervent; Walker himself said he’s looking to star in a prestige drama across from Julianne Moore in 2026. I’m sure there will be plenty of people lighting candles and buying Etsy spells for Wakim and Walker’s success. Who knows if the new cast members will live up to the levels of hotness that the audience has come to appreciate from Walker and Wakim. These are some sexy shoes to fill. 

But if Michaels isn’t out there casting a bunch of certified baddies, he might want to consider visiting a Manhattan witch about some counter hexes. The “Lorne Michaels cough in 3 days” comment seemed like pretty serious business. If Michaels is considering cutting Marcelo Hernandez, he might want to even keep a witch on retainer.