{"id":197928,"date":"2025-09-03T22:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T22:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/197928\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T22:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T22:16:10","slug":"devon-walker-on-leaving-snl-and-why-the-show-can-be-toxic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/197928\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon Walker on Leaving ‘SNL’ and Why the Show Can Be ‘Toxic’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s been just over a week since Devon Walker<\/a> left \u201cSaturday Night Live<\/a>,\u201d and he\u2019s ready to talk about his three-year tenure on the show.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe comic and actor, best known for playing Eric Adams on the sketch comedy show, shared mixed feelings<\/a> about \u201cSNL\u201d while announcing his departure, writing, \u201cSometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell \u2026 We made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a fucked up lil family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStrolling laps around Madison Square Park on Tuesday afternoon, Walker tells Variety in an interview, \u201cI\u2019m so grateful to have been at the show. I\u2019ll be eternally grateful, for the good parts and the bad parts. I\u2019m glad to have seen what that place is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019s just come from recording an episode of his podcast, \u201cMy Favorite Lyrics,\u201d an independent venture that Walker says is now courting distribution offers. In the past few days, he\u2019s also had conversations with producers and streamers about his next move.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI want to tell stories, and I want to tell mine. I want to make stuff that feels honest and true to me,\u201d he says. \u201cSketch has never been the medium I\u2019ve felt most drawn to, so I\u2019m excited to get into film and TV projects where I can expand what I\u2019ve been trying to do creatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tYour departure from \u201cSNL\u201d was met with a strong reaction from fans, to the point where you posted on X<\/a>, \u201cY\u2019all acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs.\u201d What did you make of the outpouring of support?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI appreciate it, because if you\u2019re sad about it, that means I made something that meant something to you, which is what\u2019s most important to me. I do this, first, because I enjoy it, and, second, because any artist hopes the things they make resonate with people. I respect people being sad, but I think the level of sadness feels a little silly. I\u2019m still here. I\u2019m still going to make stuff. The show is, by its nature, a temporary job. The show is made to be left. I left it, but I\u2019m not going anywhere.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019ve said your exit was a mutual decision between you and the show. Do you feel satisfied with your time on \u201cSNL\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI do feel satisfied with my time on the show. I got to do this thing I wanted to do, which is make stuff with some of my friends. Life can be funny, because when I started in comedy, at no point was I ever like, \u201cI gotta get on \u2018SNL.\u2019\u201d If you\u2019re not Tina Fey or if you weren\u2019t on there for 10 years, there\u2019s an inclination for people to be like, \u201cHe didn\u2019t fulfill his potential\u201d or whatever. But for me, the fact that I got on there at all and stayed around for a few years is beyond a success for me. It\u2019s more than I ever hoped for. I have no qualms with the amount of time I did.<\/p>\n

\t\tFor most people, getting in the audition room is a huge victory in itself.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tJust getting to that stage is such a big thing. Plus, getting on that show as a stand-up, it feels like I was a really good high school golfer, and I wanted to get a scholarship. And a college is like, \u201cWe don\u2019t really do golf here, but you\u2019re good at swinging. Why don\u2019t you play baseball?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tYou \u201cHappy Gilmore\u201d-ed it.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYou know what I\u2019m saying! I learned how to do this brand new thing at this legendary institution, the highest level of sketch comedy. I beat the odds in a really crazy way. I feel very proud of myself to have been in the show at all.<\/p>\n

\t\tIn your post, you wrote that sometimes \u201cSNL\u201d was \u201ctoxic as hell.\u201d Does the show need to be that way for it to be \u201cSNL\u201d?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, I don\u2019t think the show needs to be that way.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat about the show specifically is toxic?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you read about the show, if you\u2019re knowledgeable about it at all, you can certainly pick up on things that are toxic about it. The show hasn\u2019t changed much in all the years they\u2019ve been doing it. There are things that went down on the show that I wouldn\u2019t talk about for free. There are a lot of things I\u2019m still trying to find the right avenue to go into detail about.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI think\u2026 [long pause] there is a measure of humanity that the show could benefit from. What ends up happening over the summer is oftentimes people are left hanging with big life decisions \u2014 people trying to start families or buy homes \u2014 and there\u2019s no word from the show about whether they have their job. The show won\u2019t tell them all summer and then will ultimately end up firing them when there\u2019s been months of them trying to work their situation out. That wasn\u2019t my situation, but I\u2019ve known of situations where that\u2019s happened. If there\u2019s one thing I hope for the future of the show, it\u2019s that a sprinkle of humanity could be added into it. I understand it\u2019s show business and it\u2019s cutthroat, but people have lives, and people deserve to know the status of their job at a reasonable juncture. Most people are told they\u2019re coming back to work in a week.<\/p>\n

\t\tFrom an outsider\u2019s point of view, it seems like the show requires a certain level of surrender. You have to give your entire self to the show, and I imagine that is difficult when it comes to planning your future or pursuing other projects.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, that is true. Devoting yourself to the time commitment of the show is just part of it, and you\u2019ve got to either get in line with that or not. But again, on the measure of transparency and clarity around people\u2019s employment\u2026 We\u2019re human beings. We\u2019ve got food to put on the table. Some of us support other people in our lives, and we\u2019re not making millions of dollars on the show. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re good indefinitely once we leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat was the most valuable lesson you learned on \u201cSNL\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tTo go with my gut instinct comedically. There are so many decisions you need to make and not a lot of time, and the show teaches you not to be precious and to trust your instincts. For a lot of us, our instincts are what got us on the show.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat are you most proud of from your time on the show?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe thing people talk to me about the most is the \u201cWeekend Update\u201d feature I did with James Austin Johnson called \u201cMilly Pounds and Shirty,\u201d<\/a> who are these two lactose-intolerant British rappers. I got to do a \u201cWeekend Update\u201d as Draymond Green<\/a> which we put together in less than 24 hours, and I heard Draymond saw it and liked it.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMichael Che and Devon Walker as Eric Adams on \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\tDid you ever hear from Eric Adams about your impression of the mayor?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tHa! No, I didn\u2019t hear from Eric Adams. I think he\u2019s got some bigger fish to fry right now. He\u2019s been busy.<\/p>\n

\t\tDid you ever try to get him on the show?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI didn\u2019t, but I don\u2019t get to make those types of decisions.<\/p>\n

\t\tOver the years, several Black \u201cSNL\u201d alums have spoken out about feeling isolated or reduced to stereotypical roles while on the show. Some people believe \u201cSNL\u201d has, historically, not supported its POC cast members as well as their white co-stars. Does that notion resonate with you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tHere\u2019s what I\u2019ll say about that: Do your research. Do your research and come to your own conclusion. I don\u2019t think it should be hard to find wherever you land on that.<\/p>\n

\t\tCan you talk about your experience on Season 50? Not only was it a landmark anniversary for \u201cSNL,\u201d but it was also an election year. Was it hard to stand out among the barrage of A-list guest stars and anniversary celebrations?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s just part of the territory. You learn to put up with that. Is it hard? Yeah, the show is always hard. That added an extra layer to it. At least in recent history, there\u2019s a precedent that the show is going to bring in guests who they think will attract eyeballs. If it\u2019s between a cast member and X celebrity, I understand why the show chooses the celebrity.<\/p>\n

\t\tIn the past week, a handful of cast members left \u201cSNL\u201d and a handful have joined. Is there a piece of advice you would give somebody who is just now entering the beast?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMake the stuff that feels the truest to you. Make the stuff that feels as close to your sensibility as possible. There may be some aspects of your creativity that aren\u2019t completely in line with what the show wants to do, but at \u201cSNL\u201d and in general, the closer you can be to your truth as an artist, the more fulfilled you will feel. Wouldn\u2019t you rather swing and miss doing it your way than try to conform or fit into something that isn\u2019t true to your voice?<\/p>\n

\t\tI think about Tim Robinson, who sometimes struggled to get things on air at \u201cSNL\u201d and then left and created \u201cI Think You Should Leave,\u201d which is now considered its own sort of comedy institution.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are a ton of examples of people who ended up not having the most illustrious careers on \u201cSNL.\u201d I\u2019ve seen very talented people get buried at the show for one reason or another. Ultimately, the show is not the whole world. For some people, once you leave and do your next thing, you get to realize the best version of yourself. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the great comedic actresses of our time, and famously \u201cSNL\u201d was not the place for her to show off what she could do. That obviously doesn\u2019t mean she wasn\u2019t capable or talented. There were just things at that specific place that didn\u2019t line up. That\u2019s the case for a lot of people. There are way more people who had Julia\u2019s tenure on the show than there are Bill Haders. That\u2019s the outlier.<\/p>\n

\t\tLet\u2019s talk about what you have planned next.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe cool thing now is everything is open. [Former \u201cSNL\u201d writer] Gary Richardson and I have a film project we wrote that we\u2019re going to shoot in the next few weeks. Going on tour is always a possibility. I might do a spring tour.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou indicated that you were interested in pursuing dramatic projects. What draws you to that?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019d be an interesting thing to experiment with. My buddy Jose Acevedo shot a short film called \u201cBaquin\u00e9 Friends Forever\u201d and I played the main character. I enjoyed getting to tap into another side. Doing stand-up and sketch is all about getting the biggest laugh, which is something I enjoy, but it\u2019s fun to explore the full range of human emotions. Apparently people read my Instagram post because I\u2019m going to have some meetings with folks about entering the dramatic space. Netflix hit up my team and said, \u201cWe heard you Dev, let\u2019s talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tYou said earlier that there are aspects of your \u201cSNL\u201d experience that you wouldn\u2019t talk about for free. Does that mean you plan to tell your \u201cSNL\u201d story in a stand-up hour?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMaybe. There\u2019s a lot to that story. I don\u2019t know how or when I\u2019d decide to tell it all the way, but, yeah\u2026 it won\u2019t be free when it comes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been just over a week since Devon Walker left \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d and he\u2019s ready to talk…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":197929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[185,99817,171,1747,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-197928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-devon-walker","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-saturday-night-live","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115142681377542411","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}