This year’s Christmas episode of “Saturday Night Live” doubled as an emotional farewell to cast member Cecily Strong, who revealed she will not return when the show comes back in January. Hosted by Austin Butler with musical guest Lizzo, Saturday’s show included multiple moments dedicated to Strong, who said her goodbyes in the middle of […]
This year’s Christmas episode of “Saturday Night Live” doubled as an emotional farewell to cast member Cecily Strong, who revealed she will not return when the show comes back in January.
Hosted by Austin Butler with musical guest Lizzo, Saturday’s show included multiple moments dedicated to Strong, who said her goodbyes in the middle of her 11th season. Strong announced her imminent exit during a “Weekend Update” segment, in character as the chaotic Cathy Anne.
“Actually, I’m a little emo tonight because truth is, I’m here to say goodbye,” Strong’s Cathy Anne told “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che.
Asked where she’s going, Strong joked, “Turns out, prison! All the crimes I confessed to you here for the past seven years finally caught up to me.”
As the segment progressed, Strong started to break character and fight back tears while reminiscing about her time on the sketch comedy series.
“Listen, everybody has to go to jail at some point, right? It’s just my time now,” she continued. “But I had a lot of fun here. And I feel really lucky that I got to have so many of the best moments of my life in this place with these people.
… Another great drug addict once said, ‘There’s no place like home.’ And there’s no home like the place where I’ve gotten to yell outside Michael Che’s window. Don’t be sad because, remember, ‘I did it high, Che!’”
Later in the show, longtime cast member Kenan Thompson played a RadioShack store manager giving a heartfelt sendoff to an employee named Cecily.
