For Ego Nwodim, Leaving SNL Was Like Getting (Amicably) Divorced
Ego Nwodim has her reasons for leaving Saturday Night Live. She just wanted to get some strange! Acting opportunities, that is. “It’s like being in a marriage. I’ve never done it before, but that show was my longest relationship ever,” Nwodim told Sherri Shepherd on November 5. “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!’”
Nwodim looks back fondly on her seven years at SNL. “I truly did learn so much there and I had so much fun,” she said. “I miss my colleagues, but it felt like the time to make space for something else for me.” Nwodim joined the cast in 2018 as a featured player and moved up to the main cast in 2020. She was the seventh Black woman hired to the show, something that Shepherd celebrated (yay, Ego!) and lamented (boo, underrepresentation). “It’s tough not seeing any Black women in the cast,” Shepherd said, asking Nwodim if she felt “the weight of all that representation” while on the show. Nwodim felt “honored to be the seventh Black woman in that cast,” noting that Punkie Johnson joined the cast after her. “Who knows who else they’ll find as they explore and seek out other talents?” she said. While the comedian is glad she was able to portray “a myriad of characters, different types of characters, some people didn’t always catch that nuance.” Curious whom Miss Eggy is subtweeting there, but anyone who can play Dionne Warwick and a Disney mom has the range.
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