Saturday Night Live is losing yet another talented cast member. Last week, Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer announced their departures from the NBC sketch comedy series. And one day after the Season 42 finale of the show on May 20, Sasheer Zamata announced that she is leaving SNL, too, according to Entertainment Weekly. Zamata hasn't publicly issued a goodbye statement, but on her Instagram account, she posted a photo of "Weekend Update" host Colin Jost and the night's host Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson holding her up on the stage. "Wow," Zamata wrote in the caption. "What a fantastic end to a fantastic season, thanks SNL."
It's going to be a big loss for the show, as the comedian has skillfully portrayed many pop culture figures over her tenure, such as Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna, as well as the original characters Keely on "Black Jeopardy," and teen Janelle from “How 2 Dance with Janelle" YouTube Channel. Zamata even played current Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay in a recent SNL parody of the ABC reality series that was cut from the show due to time, but has since been posted on YouTube. Zamata joined SNL as a featured player in 2014 during a time when the show was facing much criticism for its lack of diversity. According to Variety, she was the first black woman to be cast on SNL since Maya Rudolph departed the series in 2007.
There's no doubt that Zamata, Moynihan, and Bayer will be missed by fans. Their takes on celebrities have always been spot on and fun to watch — Bayer's Rachel from Friends is uncanny, Moynihan will always be the New York Times' Glenn Thrush to Melissa McCarthy's Sean Spicer, and Zamata's Lynne Thigpen of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is so good. Their original characters will definitely have a place in SNL lore, too — Moynihan's iconic "Drunk Uncle" character made one last appearance during the May 20 episode's "Weekend Update" segment.
The new cast members who join SNL next season will definitely have big shoes to fill.
