‘SNL’ alum Devon Walker opens up about sudden exit from ‘toxic’ show ahead of new season

“Saturday Night Live” star Devon Walker has opened up about his sudden exit from the show after only three seasons.

The comedian, who called the popular sketch comedy “toxic as hell” upon announcing his departure last week, discussed why the series “doesn’t need to be that way” during an interview with Variety published Wednesday, Sept. 3.

“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,” Walker, 34, began. “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,” he added. “There are a lot of things I’m still trying to find the right avenue to go into detail about.”

After pausing and thinking about what “SNL” could “benefit from” after 50 seasons, Walker argued that it could use a “measure of humanity.”

“What ends up happening over the summer is oftentimes people are left hanging with big life decisions – people trying to start families or buy homes – and there’s no word from the show about whether they have their job,” he explained.

“The show won’t tell them all summer and then will ultimately end up firing them when there’ve been months of them trying to work their situation out,” he continued. “That wasn’t my situation, but I’ve known of situations where that’s happened.”

Although Walker has not clarified whether he left “SNL” voluntarily or was axed by creator Lorne Michaels, he asserted that the show could be more accommodating when it came to cutting main cast members loose.

“If there’s one thing I hope for the future of the show, it’s that a sprinkle of humanity could be added into it,” he shared. “I understand it’s show business and it’s cutthroat, but people have lives, and people deserve to know the status of their job at a reasonable juncture.”

“Most people are told they’re coming back to work in a week,” Walker continued.

The comedian and actor, who was best known on “SNL” for impersonating NYC Mayor Eric Adams in several sketches, was the first star to announce his exit shortly after Michaels, 80, teased a cast shakeup ahead of the new season’s premiere on Oct. 4.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, Aug. 25, Walker compared “SNL” to a relationship and admitted that it could be unhealthy at times.

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

Three more stars left the beloved variety show in the following days, including newcomer Emil Wakem, Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner.

“It was the most terrifying, thrilling and rewarding experience of my life, and I will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home,” Wakim, 27, said Wednesday, Aug. 27.

“Will not be returning for a 4th season at SNL,” Longfellow, 31, added one day later. “Wish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far.”

Longfellow, who joined as a featured player in 2022 before being promoted to the main cast last year, later detailed how he learned he was kicked off the long-running sketch show

Although The Post confirmed Gardner’s exit on Aug. 28 after a record-breaking eight seasons as the longest-tenured woman on the show, she has still not addressed the shocking news herself.

Elsewhere during his interview with Variety, Walker touched upon the disappointed fan reactions following the news of his exit – which he also spoke to on X last week.

“I appreciate it, because if you’re sad about it, that means I made something that meant something to you, which is what’s most important to me,” he told the outlet. “I do this, first, because I enjoy it, and, second, because any artist hopes the things they make resonate with people.”

“I respect people being sad, but I think the level of sadness feels a little silly,” Walker added. “I’m still here. I’m still going to make stuff. The show is, by its nature, a temporary job.”

“The show is made to be left,” he concluded. “I left it, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Meanwhile, it was announced that five new featured players will be joining “SNL” for its landmark 51st season next month.

Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska will make their debuts when the sketch comedy show returns to Studio 8H on Oct. 4, NBCUniversal revealed Tuesday.