It has been 10 days since Saturday Night Live cast member Devon Walker announced that, after three seasons, he is parting ways with the legendary sketch comedy show—which he described as “really cool” part of the time and “toxic as hell” at others.
Now that he has had more than a week to digest the news, Walker is clarifying his initial comments on what he described as the “f***ed up lil family” he and his fellow cast members created on the long-running NBC series.
In a new interview with Variety, Walker said “I’m so grateful to have been at the show. I’ll be eternally grateful, for the good parts and the bad parts. I’m glad to have seen what that place is.”
The 34-year-old comedian, who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also shared that it means a lot that fans are upset about his departure, “because if you’re sad about it, that means I made something that meant something to you.” However, he also admitted that the overreaction to the so-called “SNL exodus” feels kind of “silly” to him.
“I’m still here,” said Walker. “I’m still going to make stuff. The show is, by its nature, a temporary job. The show is made to be left. I left it, but I’m not going anywhere.”
Still, Walker stands by his “toxic” comments. When pressed to describe some of what he sees as the specific issues with the show, he simply responded: “If you read about the show, if you’re knowledgeable about it at all, you can certainly pick up on things that are toxic about it. The show hasn’t changed much in all the years they’ve been doing it. There are things that went down on the show that I wouldn’t talk about for free. There are a lot of things I’m still trying to find the right avenue to go into detail about.”
“I think… [long pause] there is a measure of humanity that the show could benefit from,” he added.
For the incoming cast members who will make their debut during SNL’s 51st season, Walker has some advice. “Make the stuff that feels the truest to you,” he says. “Make the stuff that feels as close to your sensibility as possible. There may be some aspects of your creativity that aren’t completely in line with what the show wants to do, but at SNL and in general, the closer you can be to your truth as an artist, the more fulfilled you will feel. Wouldn’t you rather swing and miss doing it your way than try to conform or fit into something that isn’t true to your voice?”
