Why did Bowen Yang leave Saturday Night Live? Emmy winner's tearful goodbye, explained

Saturday Night Live aired one last episode before a winter hiatus, with season 51, episode 9, airing on December 20, 2025, on NBC. The episode was hosted by Ariana Grande, her third on the show. Cher joined her as the musical guest in an episode that served as a farewell to SNL fan favorite Bowen Yang.

The comedian received a grand sendoff, appearing in several sketches, as was the norm for him, including a meta sketch in which he played a Delta One Lounge employee working his final shift. His departure follows a significant shake-up at SNL, as Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, and Emil Wakim all left before season 51 premiered.

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Bowen Yang leaves Saturday Night Live after seven year run

5th Annual Academy Museum Gala - Arrivals (Image via Getty)

A beloved cast member, Bowen Yang, has officially departed the iconic sketch comedy show after seven years, a departure the fan-favorite star confirmed via social media. The 35-year-old comedian joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2018. Less than a year later, he was promoted to the main cast and made history as the first Chinese-American cast member.

Not only that, but he was also one of the few openly gay male cast members in SNL’s history. In 2021, he became the first SNL featured player to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated four more times since.

That includes four consecutive nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, more than any other SNL male cast member before him. In fact, only Kate McKinnon (nine nominations with two wins) and Kristen Wiig (four nominations) have outdone him in that regard.

That should come as no shock, as Bowen Yang was behind some of Saturday Night Live’s greatest sketches and characters in modern history, including George Santos, Moo Deng, and more. He leaves on a high note, having gained significant notice outside the iconic comedy series with roles in Wicked and its subsequent sequel, Wicked: For Good, as well as The Wedding Banquet and more.

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What Bowen Yang had to say about his departure from

Saturday Night Live

Yang spent just over seven years on Saturday Night Live and signed off in an emotional sketch in which he played a Delta One Lounge employee working his last shift. He fought back tears before eventually breaking down while singing about his job in a parody of Charles Brown’s 1960s Please Come Home for Christmas, with Ariana Grande joining as a duet.

Before the episode, Yang had a lot to say in his goodbye post on Instagram, admitting that the show and the people there showed him a lot of love and more.

"I loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people. i was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile,” Yang said on Instagram.

He added that he was grateful for the opportunity to work for Saturday Night Live and that he learned a lot about himself and show business in the process.

"I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. i learned about myself (bad with wigs). i learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). i learned that human error can be nothing but correct. i learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst,” Yang added.

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Interested viewers can watch Saturday Night Live season 51 on NBC.

Edited by Shreya Das