Michael Che has sat behind the Weekend Update desk at Saturday Night Live since 2014. But after rumors began to circulate that the comedian was leaving his post, Michael Che took to social media to set the record straight by providing a legitimate weekend update.
SNL star and writer Michael Che shared a recent post on Instagram to put the rumors of his exit to rest. His image-based message read:
im not leaving snl. i said it a comedy show, and some dork transcribed it & wrote an article.
Michael Che the bemusedly explained that earlier jokes he’d made during that set — that he preferred ‘jerking off to sex’ and that he was planning to buy a urinal for his house — were also just that: jokes. He also asked comedy fans to stop repeating the things they hear at comedy shows, claiming that to do so would be ‘spoiling the trick.’ There's probably still a way to read into that as thinking he's flipping to more of a behind-the-scenes role on SNL, but we'll take him at his word here.
According to the comedian, he simply joked about leaving Saturday Night Live at a pop-up comedy show in a Minneapolis hair salon. Unfortunately, his comment quickly made the rounds online, leading many to believe his words were genuine. Many news outlets reported Che’s alleged departure, including Huff Post and Page Six, which isn't all that outlandish, considering speculation about changes to the sketch comedy's cast builds with every year. Check out Che's post below.
The Michael Che joke in question, according to Deadline, involved a dig at his Weekend Update wardrobe. He allegedly said:
This is my last year. You know my tie is a clip-on, right? What man wears a clip-on tie to work for eight years — that’s embarrassing.
Several Saturday Night Live stars have hinted at their upcoming departures, including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Cecily Strong, and Pete Davidson, without any of them actually following through. However, many of them have left the sketch show for weeks at a time to work on other projects, leading fans to question their ongoing involvement. (Even though they don't even have tie issues to deal with.) Michael Che has been pretty busy with various comedic projects outside of SNL, but he’s always managed to get behind the Weekend Update desk to crack some jokes and teasingly torture co-host Colin Jost about his new baby.
This isn't the first time fans have been told a star was leaving a show only to discover that the news was false advertising. It’s not even the first time Michael Che has had to set the record straight on Weekend Update: he recently responded to Kanye West’s job proposal. If anything, this was at least a less extreme instance of a reaction to a comedian's on-stage joke, considering the shocking turn of events at the 2022 Oscars involving Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.
Catch Michael Che on Weekend Update on Season 47 of Saturday Night Live, which is currently airing on NBC at 11:30 pm EST on the titular evening. Be sure to check out all the upcoming hosts and musical guests. You can also watch past episodes with your Hulu subscription or your Peacock Premium subscription.
