Ego Nwodim Explains ‘SNL’ Exit and Says ‘I Hope There Will Be More Black Women’ on the Show: It Was ‘Time to Make Space for Something Else for Me’

Ego Nwodim is sharing her feelings about her time on “Saturday Night Live” and her decision to leave the late-night series just before its 51st season.

On Wednesday’s episode of “Sherri,” Sherri Shepherd pointed out that there are no longer any Blasck women in the “SNL” cast asked Nwodim if she felt “the weight of all of that representation” during her time on the show.

“I don’t know that I would call it weight. I felt honored to be the seventh Black woman in that cast,” Nwodim replied. “I hope that there will be more Black women. Punkie Johnson came on the show after me. Who knows who else they’ll find as they explore and seek out other talents?” (Johnson the cast in 2020 and departed in 2024, a year before Nwodim’s exit.)

“I do believe I represented a myriad of characters, different types of characters,” she continued. “Some people didn’t always catch that nuance, but I do feel like I got the chance to represent and that was really important to me.”

Nwodim joined “SNL” as a featured player in 2018’s Season 44 before being promoted to the main cast for Season 48 in 2020, performing in a total of seven seasons. Speaking about her exit, she said, “It’s like being in a marriage. I’ve never done it before, but that show was my longest relationship ever. I’m not a commitment-phobe, but I heard when you’re married, you get the seven-year itch. And it’s like, I wanna date other people! I wanna see some other privates!”

“It felt like the time to make space for something else for me,” Nwodim added.