Bowen Yang breaks silence on Heidi Gardner’s SNL exit

Bowen Yang has heaped praise on his Saturday Night Live co-star Heidi Gardner following the news that she will be exiting the sketch comedy series after eight seasons.

Speaking on the latest episode of his Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers, Yang acknowledged that he will be returning to SNL for its 51st season, saying that he is “thrilled to go back”.

Yet the feeling was bittersweet, as he continued:  “I will miss the people who are not coming back very, very much.”

Alongside Heidi Gardner, comedians Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and John Higgins will not be returning to the historic show.

Yang praised his co-stars, sharing: “They were fantastic comedians going in. They are fantastic comedians coming out. Those are some A+ gems.”

The Wicked star took an extra moment to lather praise on Gardner, describing her as “one of the greats” who would “go down in history”.

Bowen Yang explained that during her eight year SNL tenure, Gardner became known as one of few writers who could pen the show’s sketches solo.

“It’s always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it,” he shared.

“But anytime you saw just ‘Gardner,’ you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast.”

He shared an anecdote about how Gardner penned the “Weekend Update” sketch for former SNL cast member Punkie Johnson, who left the show in 2024.

“It was one of the most beautiful, kindest gestures I’ve ever seen at that show, and her heart was so big, and clearly so f**king funny.”

He went on to describe her as a “true anchor” for the comedy show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in February.

Outside of the show, Yang said that Gardner was fundamental in getting him and his co-stars through the Covid-19 pandemic.

“[She was] one of the first people who was just like, ‘OK, just to get through this, let’s just each wake up, no rush, there’s no time limit — let’s just each text each other every day, something that made us smile today,’” Yang shared.

He ended by describing Gardner as “a truly beautiful person”.

While Gardner will be departing the show alongside Walker, Longfellow, Wakim, and Jon Higgins, four new cast members will join SNL for season 51. 

Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska will join the series, while Ben Marshall will become part of the main cast.

Last month, it was also revealed that Celeste Yim, SNL’s first non-binary writer, would depart after five years.

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