https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ego-nwodim-leaving-snl-1236369244/

Her exit (https://www.reddit.com/r/LiveFromNewYork/comments/1nf578l/snl_ego_nwodim_to_leave_after_seven_seasons/) comes after NBC had seemingly firmed up its season 51 cast earlier in the week.

One more castmember is leaving Saturday Night Live (https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/350-snl-in-the-media/page/46/) before the show’s 51st season.

In an Instagram story posted Friday morning, Ego Nwodim says she had decided to leave the show after seven seasons. Her announcement comes a few days after NBC had seemingly finalized the SNL cast for the coming season, with Nwodim included.

“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight,” Nwodim writes in the Instagram post. But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL. I am immensely grateful to Lorne for the opportunity, to my castmates, the writers, and the crew for their brilliance, support and friendship. Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories (and that laughter) with me always. Now invite me to your weddings please!!!”

Nwodim becomes the fifth member of SNL’s cast to leave (https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ego-nwodim-departs-%E2%80%98snl%E2%80%99-after-seven-seasons.5981280/#post-111494963) between seasons, following Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim. The Please Don’t Destroy trio also won’t appear on screen together after writer and sometime performer John Higgins departed the show; Ben Marshall moved out of the writers room to become a featured player (along with Kam Patterson, Jeremy Culhane, Veronika Slowikowska and Tommy Brennan), while the third member of the group, Martin Herlihy, is staying on as a writer.

On Monday, Nwodim’s name was included in a list of returning cast for the coming season, alongside Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, “Weekend Update” anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.

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From struggling to cut tough steak to flirting as a highway patrol officer, Ego Nwodim has created some unforgettable SNL moments! Join us as we count down her most side-splitting performances during her seven-year tenure on the show. Our list includes characters who are hilariously "strong and wrong" and impressions that had even the real celebrities impressed! Our countdown features Lisa From Temecula, Miss Eggy, her Katt Williams impression on Club Shay Shay, Dionne Warwick Talk Show, Rich Auntie with No Kids, Parent-Teacher Conference, Thirsty Cops, Ms. Williams the teacher, Mid-Day News, and Ms. Fink in the classroom. Which Ego Nwodim character had you laughing the hardest?

She just had too much of an ego to remain on the show. ;)

Sherri Shepherd calls SNL not having a Black female cast member an “emergency." (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/sherri-shepherd-snl-cast-black-woman-ego-nwodim-exit-1236394453/)

Sherri Shepherd declared (https://www.google.com/search?q=Sherri+Shepherd+calls+SNL+not+having+a+Black+female+cast+member+an+%E2%80%9Cemergency.%22&oq=Sherri+Shepherd+calls+SNL+not+having+a+Black+female+cast+member+an+%E2%80%9Cemergency.%22&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTE4MzRqMGoxNagCCLACAfEF-kK4Am_sBejxBfpCuAJv7AXo&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) the lack of a Black female cast member on Saturday Night Live an "emergency" after the departure of Ego Nwodim, the show's only Black female cast member at the time. Shepherd, on her talk show Sherri, urged SNL to "hurry up" and cast a Black woman, emphasizing the importance of representation and the abundance of talented Black female comedians available.

Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim have an emotional reunion after exiting SNL, describing it as “such a challenging place” to work (https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/snl-stars-heidi-gardner-and-ego-nwodim-break-silence-on-struggles-after-shock-exits/)

On Nwodim’s Thanks Dad (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5mCsL9yrKw5BjCTWNPbhT9) podcast, the pair discussed getting “vulnerable” about everything that made SNL “such a challenging place” to work, according to The Daily Beast. “I am so honored that we worked so hard there, and then we also worked on our friendship so hard, which wasn’t hard, by the way,” Gardner said, “I just mean… we’re humans, so we have egos, we want things for ourselves, we want to succeed, and there weren’t a lot of times when we were able to succeed in the way we wanted at the exact same time.” Nwodim added: “It’s so easy to be caught up with your own stuff at SNL, and what you’re getting on and what you’re not getting on, and how you’re succeeding and how you wish you were doing better, or how I want what that person has.” She continued, “I remember so many times being like, why can’t we be able to be winning together at the same time, so it could feel like full celebration and not one of us mourning or frustrated and one of us like on cloud nine.”