Overview
- Multiple outlets say Yang’s final appearance as a cast member is Saturday’s episode hosted by Ariana Grande with Cher as musical guest, while NBC and Yang’s representatives declined to comment.
- Yang would be the first SNL regular to exit midseason since Cecily Strong in December 2022, a move uncommon but not unprecedented in the show’s history.
- He joined SNL as a writer in 2018, moved on-air in 2019, became a repertory player in 2021, earned five Emmy nominations, and made history as the show’s first Chinese-American cast member and one of its early openly gay stars.
- The reported exit follows significant Season 51 reshuffling, with recent departures including Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and writer John Higgins, a shift Lorne Michaels has described as healthy change.
- Yang’s growing slate outside SNL includes roles in the Wicked films, the Las Culturistas podcast and an upcoming Searchlight feature, with a new promo showing Cher playfully slapping Grande and Yang to tease the episode.