Michael Longfellow reportedly learned he was fired from Saturday Night Live in a phone call made by his agent and not creator Lorne Michaels.
The Daily Beast reports that Longfellow, 31, revealed he received the call at an airport in Utah, where he was told he would no longer a part of the SNL cast.
He was reportedly amongst other passengers awaiting their flights when he received the bad news.
Longfellow, 31, joined SNL in season 48 as a ‘featured player’ – and was known for his Weekend Update segments. He is among four cast members leaving the show.
Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Saturday Night Live for comment but have not yet heard back.
The Daily Beast notes that a Michaels subordinate will typically inform comedians of their hiring, and that SNL cast members also learn about their firings by their agents.
Michael Longfellow reportedly learned he was fired from Saturday Night Live during a phone call made by his agent and not creator Lorne Michael
More rarely, they learn about their axing on the news.
Michaels does sometimes phone cast members and writers about their hiring as well, the publication notes.
When announcing his departure on Instagram, Longfellow praised his time on the show and offered a profuse thank you to Michaels.
‘Will not be returning for a 4th season at SNL. Wish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far. I feel nothing but gratitude for the experience and everyone there. Lorne, you gave me the greatest job in the world and changed my life. You even put my mom on TV. Thank you doesnt begin to cover it, but thank you,’ he captioned a post.
‘I’ll miss it all, but I’ll miss the friends I made and seeing them everyday the most.
‘Excited for the future and things to come. If you take anything away from my time on SNL let it be that smoking you makes you skinny and popular, Jesus was Chinese, and if a tortoise ever gives you trouble just kill him tough guy. You wont.’
Longfellow was still digesting the news during a surprise appearance at SNL castmember James Austin Johnson’s stand-up set in Brooklyn on Sunday.
The Daily Beast spoke with an audience member who said Longfellow looked ‘super bummed’ as he fielded questions about his axing.
‘He was downcast. He was trying to hide it, but you could tell it sucked for him,’ the audience member said.
A Redditor who claimed to have been in attendance said Longfellow fielded audience questions about ‘getting fired’, called it unexpected, and said ‘it sucks’ due to the show.
Longfellow had been part of the show for just three seasons before he received the axe
Michael joined season 48 as a ‘featured player’ – and was known for his Weekend Update segments
Longfellow was reportedly downcast as he fielded questions about his firing at a recent stand-up show
The netizen recalled Longfellow telling the audience: ‘”My neighbor knows I’m fired. I don’t actually know my neighbor. He doesn’t know me. But he knows I’m fired.”‘
The Redditor also noted: ‘He also has not spoken to Lorne, he heard via his agent. That being said, he seemed ok? He was even hanging around in the bar after the show so other people will probably get more tea.’
In addition to Longfellow, Heidi Gardner, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker will all not be returning to the show.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Walker admitted that his exit from the show was a mutual decision and not solely because of Lorne.
‘The big question,’ he began when asked about his departure. ‘To be frank, I guess the best way I put it is like me and the show kind of looked at each other and we decided together that it was time to go our separate ways.
‘I think I felt ready to leave the show, and I think the show felt ready to leave me.’
Last week, many were shocked as Daily Mail confirmed that fan favorite Heidi Gardner had exited the show after an impressive eight-season run as furious viewers called for SNL to be cancelled amid the ongoing cast exodus.
Long-time SNL star Heidi Gardner, pictured with Longfellow, will also not be returning to the show
‘He was downcast. He was trying to hide it, but you could tell it sucked for him,’ an audience member told The Daily Beast
The Daily Mail reached out to Gardner’s reps for comment. A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment to the Daily Mail.
The Daily Beast wrote Gardner’s departure from the show was ‘almost certainly’ her choice.
Gardner joined Saturday Night Live in 2017 during season 43 as a featured player along with now-former SNL stars Luke Null and Chris Redd.
She was then promoted to the main cast two years later.
Since then, the Missouri-born actress has written and starred in countless iconic SNL sketches.
