Bowen Yang Reveals Real Reason Behind SNL Exit

Bowen Yang goes more in-depth about the real reason he left Saturday Night Live and addresses the criticisms he received during his run on the sketch comedy show.

During a recent episode of his podcast, Las Culturistas, he reflected on his time on SNL and explained that, despite him being grateful for the opportunity, he felt like he wasn't given enough room for growth. He stated how he felt like he went into the series as a pre-painted character rather than a blank canvas, which led to a lot of people believing that he was predictable and one-note.

The actor also added that he felt lucky to have been able to leave on his own terms when many of his colleagues weren't given that same luxury. He said that he understood why many of the current cast members have decided to stay for so long and that he doesn't judge them for it in any way whatsoever. He also made it clear that there was no ill will between him and Saturday Night Live.

The current entertainment ecosystem is so turbulent that people have completely valid reasons for staying longer, or in a lot of cases, don’t have the privilege of staying on as long as they would like to. I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to. I was maybe unsure about going back in the summer, and I’m so glad I did.

Yang went on to discuss the negative feedback he received from viewers. He said that there were a lot of comments about him not having any range, and, after a while, it made him feel like he was a little trapped. He revealed that people always just saw him as "just the gay Asian guy." While his co-host, Matt Rogers, said that those remarks were mainly "lazy insults," the former cast member said that he could see their point, and to a certain extent, he agreed.

Yang explained that he did try to branch out more. However, every time he attempted to move away from that specific stereotype, people still couldn't see past him being gay and Asian. So, naturally, he felt like he wasn't being seen as an individual and that a lot of viewers wouldn't let him evolve beyond what they expected from him.

I feel like I was really bogged down the entire time I was there about the idea that there was no range in anything I did. I knew I was never gonna play the dad. I was never gonna play the generic thing in sketches. It’s a sketch show each thing is like four minutes long. It is short and collapsed by necessity, so therefore it plays on archetypes.

These archetypes are also in a relationship with generic things, and there is a genericism in whiteness and in being a canvas to build upon. I came in pre-stretched, pre-dyed. People had their over-determinations on what I was, which was: ‘Oh, that’s just the gay Asian guy on SNL.‘ So anytime I would try to work outside of that, it got completely ignored or it still got collapsed to, ‘Oh, he’s being gay and Asian as always

Yang was the first Asian cast member on Saturday Night Live when he joined in 2019. His impeccable comedic timing and phenomenal delivery made him a quick fan favorite. His last episode was the series' 2025 Christmas episode, hosted by his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, and his last sketch was probably one of the most heartfelt bits on the show, bringing tears to the audience.

Saturday Night Live airs every Saturday at 11:30 PM ET and 8:30 PM PT.