“I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to.”

Bowen Yang reveals he almost left SNL before his 2025 exit

"I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to."

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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January 7, 2026 12:57 p.m. ET

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Bowen Yang. Credit:

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

After surprising fans with his midseason departure from *Saturday Night Live,* Bowen Yang is back with another revelation: he considered leaving the show even earlier.

While unpacking his *SNL* exit on the latest episode of his *Las Culturistas* podcast with longtime friend and cohost Matt Rogers, Yang shared that he was originally "unsure" about returning to the show following its landmark 50th season.

"This is the thing. This is honestly what's behind it: it's like, it's time," Yang explained on the Jan. 7 podcast. "You would do seven seasons and then you would scoot. And then, like, COVID and the current media landscape, the current entertainment ecosystem is so turbulent that people have completely valid reasons for staying longer, or in a lot of cases, don't have the privilege of staying on as long as they would like to. I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to."

Michael Che and Bowen Yang as Chen Biao during Weekend Update on 'Saturday Night Live'.

Will Heath/NBC via Getty

Yang, who joined *SNL* as a writer in 2018 before becoming a cast member in 2019, added that while he was hesitant to return for season 51, he is ultimately "glad" to have spent a few more episodes in Studio 8H — especially since his final episode featured his *Wicked* costar Ariana Grande as host and the iconic Cher as the musical guest.

"I wasn't able to be there, which hurt my heart," Rogers later noted. "But I was there the last time I thought it was the last show. And I was there in spirit, sobbing, laying on my back in my Orlando hotel because I couldn't believe just how perfectly it was ending."

Yang agreed, adding that nailing his exit felt like "landing the Mars rover on like a square foot of terrain" as "there were no guarantees about how any of it was gonna shake out."

Ariana Grande reacts to Bowen Yang's tearful 'SNL' exit: 'I love you more than words can say'

Bowen Yang expected to leave 'SNL' after Ariana Grande-hosted episode

Not only did Yang get to share the stage with Grande and Cher, the trio starred together in Yang's last on-air sketch, a tongue-in-cheek farewell to the longtime *SNL* cast member. The "Delta Lounge" sketch starred Yang as a sardonic, jaded employee in a Delta Airlines airport lounge as he unites his wife (Grande) and boss (Cher) for his final day on the job. Packed with meta jokes and farewells, it also saw him share a duet with Grande.

Reflecting on it with Rogers, Yang pointed out that there was always the possibility for the sketch to be cut. "Working there is just making peace with the fact that, like, things are completely out of your control. Down to, like, the audience response to a joke," he said. "I think having that and like going into it, like down to not being sure if that sketch was going to go to air… There's a million reasons why it could get cut. Nothing is guaranteed."

He added, "That is sort of, in a nutshell, illustrative of what that job is. And it was resonant all the way through to the end."

Bowen Yang in 'Delta Lounge' sketch on 'Saturday Night Live'.

At another point in their conversation, Rogers argued that Yang's final sketch and episode overall were too good for him to ever return.

"My whole thing was, how were you supposed to stay after that?" he quipped, laughing. "You could never have gone back after that. I thought after the 50th — I didn't understand how, why you were coming back this season, just to be candid. Because I was like, it's after the 50th, you know what I mean? I felt like other people were gonna leave, and then you went back. And now it's like, I'm so grateful you went back and had that."

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Yang agreed. "I'm so grateful I went back," he started, getting emotional as he recounted his final moments on stage. "There was like an outpouring. It just felt like a really beautiful thing where, as I get on the floor, I look out, it was basically, like, everyone who worked there showing up. And I just looked out and I thought, I'm so lucky that I ever got to work here. And I'm so lucky that I get to make this little statement that's barely veiled where I'm like, 'I love you all.' I'm so lucky."

Yang's exit was the latest in a string of *SNL* departures, following that of Heidi Gardner, who had an eight-season tenure, and Ego Nwodim, who was with the show for seven seasons. Listen to Yang's full conversation with Rogers above.**

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