In what some are calling the most amazing farewell of all time, Saturday Night Live’s President Donald Trump has bid adieu to his departing comrade, Bowen Yang.
James Austin Johnson, famed for his impression of the president on the long-running comedy sketch show, saluted Yang on Instagram ahead of his final episode on Dec. 20.
“Ricky’s about to cut me off, but then that barback with the glasses look like Mayim Bialik bout to make me act up,” Johnson wrote, quoting Bowen in the 2023 “Jingle Pitch” sketch with Jenna Ortega.
“Line read of the century. I love you @fayedunaway onward and upward, I have been changed for good, etc.”
Johnson, who joined the cast in 2021, three years after Bowen, shared a series of behind-the-scenes images of himself, Yang, and other cast members, along with some of their sketches together.
Johnson did not, however, shed any further light on the mysterious mid-season departure of one of the current lineup’s brightest stars.
It was revealed on Friday that Yang would be exiting Saturday Night Live following the final episode of 2025, which will be hosted by pop star and actor Ariana Grande with Cher as musical guest.
“I have loved working at SNL,” Yang wrote in a post to Instagram on Saturday morning, publicly confirming his departure.
“The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready, but s---, I hope I am,” the 35-year-old actor and writer continued.
He did not, however, provide any further clarification about the reason behind his unexpected departure from the show, which is halfway through its 51st season.
The move, which is unusual for a cast member, was made all the more surprising considering Yang’s commitment to remain with the show despite the bitter exodus of cast members ahead of the current season.
In September, Yang told People magazine that he would be sticking around Studio 8H after being personally asked to by the show’s legendary creator, Lorne Michaels.
“I’ve always gone by the instinct of: Do I have more to do? And I feel like I do,” Yang said at the time.
SNL castmates Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim all departed ahead of the latest season in a shock shakeup, with several of them making it clear that they were booted before they felt they were ready.
Walker, who worked as a cast member for three seasons, said that the show could be “toxic as hell” and that there had been a “lack of humanity” in how the firings were handled.
Alongside Johnson, Yang leaves his fellow cast members Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, Chloe Fineman, Mikey Day, and Kenan Thompson to wrap up the ongoing season.
