Devon Walker announces ‘SNL’ exit, calls it ‘toxic as hell’

The first one bites the dust.

Comedian Devon Walker has announced his exit from “Saturday Night Live” after three seasons, just days after creator Lorne Michaels teased a Season 51 cast shakeup.

Walker, 34, shared the surprising news on Instagram Monday night. He compared his job on the NBC sketch comedy show to a relationship, and admitted that it was “toxic” at times.

“To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages,” he began. “Some of em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not. That’s the deal. You know what it is it when you sign up.”

“Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool,” Walker continued. “Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f–ked up lil family.”

The comic added that he was “happy” he had the opportunity to work with some of his “SNL” colleagues for three years, and revealed that he was getting ready to go overseas.

“More than anything, I’m just really happy I got to do it with Gary and Alex. N—– really went from running a bar show to working together at 30 rock! It’s a beautiful thing. Also I look caked up in that picture and I feel like it’s important for people to know what I got going on.”

“Anyway, I’m bout to go to Japan,” Walker concluded. “When I get back I’m tryna be in a prestige drama. Ideally something with Julianne Moore. Hope y’all staying hydrated and getting some money today.”

The Texas native captioned his post, “Me and baby broke up,” and penned his “SNL” exit announcement on a computer note titled, “Wait..did he quit or did he get fired?”

He also included a screenshot of a text message where he wrote “I’m out” alongside a celebration emoji.

Walker first joined “SNL” as a featured player in 2022 during the show’s 48th season. He was promoted to the main cast in 2024 and often appeared during the “Weekend Update” segment alongside Colin Jost and Michael Che.

Besides appearing in several sketches, he was most popular for portraying A-listers like Michael Strahan, Van Jones and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Shortly before Walker’s announcement, Michaels hinted at major cast changes ahead of the latest season premiere of “SNL” on Oct. 4.

During an interview with Puck News published Friday, Aug. 22, the famed 80-year-old producer replied “yes” when he was asked if he plans to “shake things up” with the new cast.

“Yeah, for sure,” Michaels said about feeling “pressure to reinvent this season.”

“It’ll be announced in a week or so,” he added before confirming that James Austin Johnson will return to impersonate President Donald Trump.

Michaels also explained that he didn’t make any big changes last season because he was more focused on bringing back famous “SNL” alumni to celebrate its monumental “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” in February.

“I wanted people coming back and being part of [the 50th season],” he told the outlet. “So, when Kate [McKinnon] hosted, Kristen [Wiig] and Maya [Rudolph] came back for it. And that meant there couldn’t be those kinds of disruptions or anything that was going to take the focus off [the 50th season].”

“And we had an election,” Michaels added.

The 21-time Emmy winner further revealed that discussions and ideas regarding how to reinvent the series are almost always taking place behind the scenes.

While Walker is the first cast member to leave “SNL” ahead of the show’s new season, he’s not the only person to announce their exit.

Writer Celeste Yim revealed their departure from the “grueling” sketch comedy in a lengthy Instagram message posted Sunday night.

“After five seasons, I’m leaving my job at Saturday Night Live,” Yim, 29, began.

“Lorne hired me over the phone when I was 23 and the job literally made all of my dreams come true,” they continued, “BUT it was also grueling and I slept in my office every week BUT my friends helped me with everything BUT I got yelled at by random famous men BUT some famous girls too BUT I loved it and I laughed every day and it’s where I grew up.”