The Internet Eulogies for Axed ‘SNL’ Cast Members Are Getting a Bit Extreme

Look, I find Lorne Michaels’ obvious distaste for hot people as offensive as the next guy. I want to objectify Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim on a weekly basis, from the comfort of my own home and am bummed about losing out on that opportunity. But unfortunately, Michaels has decided to fire everyone who looks like they could be the absolute perfect college boyfriend. (If this is the metric, Mikey Day marked safe, Bowen Yang at risk!)

But some fans of the dearly departed SNL cast members have seemed to confuse their exit from Saturday Night Live with a departure from this Earthly realm. As Walker put it on X, “yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs.”

Maybe you haven’t seen some of the posts. Here’s a funeral slideshow set to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” from TikTok. 

Don’t get me wrong. It’s pretty funny. Even Walker thought so when it was shown to him on X. “Wait can somebody send me this,” he responded.

But the perfect use of the Fade video effect is unfortunately illustrating a larger sentiment that getting cut from the SNL cast is somehow a death blow to these young, handsome, famous comedians. For starters, podcasting exists. But for seconds, there have been very few (perhaps zero) recorded instances of being on SNL (even for a short time) being bad for your career. These guys (and Heidi Gardner, a longtime star of the show) are going to get other jobs. You wouldn’t know that from the reactions online, though. 

The outrage I’m sure is touching for the cast members who are now taking calls with their agents to find other opportunities this fall, but it might also be a little insulting for them to see their fans act like this is the absolute end of the road for people who have already summited the Mount Everest of comedy careers. Some of this concern comes off like when 20-year-old women try to compliment 30-year-old women. The gasp, then, “Wow! You don’t look that old at all! I would have only guessed 25!” 

Women don’t stop being hot at 30, and comedians don’t stop getting booked after they leave SNL. Also, after Shane Gillis got fired from SNL for saying lots of sexist and racist things, he got comedy specials, a Netflix show and multiple hosting gigs on SNL. And he’s not even in a position to be coasting on his looks! Wakim, Walker and Longfellow could at least book a few commercials based on their face cards alone. 

So, if you’re about to craft a passionate tweet defending these men, pause! And remember that unemployment is mostly harmless. It’s a period of time to convince yourself that you will get new hobbies and better fitness routines before accepting that recovering from burnout won’t mean you’ll finally run a half marathon. 

Don’t stop the fun completely, though. The in-memoriam videos are pretty funny, and I love the idea of Lorne Michaels reading the words, “Lorne Michaels hates sexy people.”