Punkie Johnson is leaving “Saturday Night Live” after four seasons.
Johnson reportedly broke the news to the audience on July 31 during a stand-up comedy show at Brooklyn’s Union Hall. Fellow “SNL” cast members Molly Kearny, Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow were also on the line-up.
Johnson confirmed the news in an email video posted to Instagram on Thursday.
Neither a spokesperson for “SNL” nor Johnson’s agents and managers could be reached for comment.
Johnson’s announcement came just hours after reports circulated that Maya Rudolph would return to the NBC sketch comedy series to play Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. Johnson herself had played the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on “SNL,” and she had done just that previously retweeted messages on X which read, “I want to see more @Punkiejohnson as Kamala #SNL” and “If Lorne [Michaels] has the foresight, he would give @Punkiejohnson the role of Kamala Harris permanently. Maybe have Maya pay a one-time visit to Punkie Kamala in a dream like the two Hillarys… and that’s it.’
Johnson joined “Saturday Night Live” as a featured player in 2020 for its 46th season. Ahead of the 48th season in 2022, she was promoted to repertory status. During her time on the series, she appeared in several sketches and “Weekend Update” segments, and showed off her impressions of Queen Latifah, Ice Spice, Angel Reese, Sunny Hostin, Gayle King, Wanda Sykes, Mary J. Blige and more .
Outside of “SNL,” Johnson has appeared in TV series such as “Space Force,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” “Corporate” and “Adam Ruins Everything.”