Martin Herlihy will depart Saturday Night Live after five seasons, according to reports.
Herlihy was on-screen for four seasons as part of the sketch trio Please Don’t Destroy. When the trio was split up following season 50, Herlihy moved to the writing staff while John Higgins left the show and Ben Marshall was promoted to the main cast.
LateNighter was first to report that Herlihy will exit ahead of the season 52 premiere later this month.
The Independent has reached out to NBC for comment.
Herlihy appeared in dozens of sketches during his time on SNL, including the favorite “Roast” skit with Dakota Johnson. He was also called a “sad virgin” by Taylor Swift.
In the viral “Three Sad Virgins” sketch, Swift sang that Herlihy “has the charm and the sex appeal of a scarecrow” before continuing, “And none of them have the guts to take their shirts off in front of a girl.”
Outside of SNL, Herlihy continues to perform with Higgins and Marshall as Please Don’t Destroy. The trio are still performing together in and around New York City, and had a show as recently as the night before news of Herlihy’s SNL departure was reported.
Herlihy’s exit comes weeks after Chloe Fineman announced season 51 of SNL was her last.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Fineman wrote: “After 7 wonderful seasons at SNL I have decided it’s time for my next chapter. It’s cliche to say this but working at SNL has been the greatest privilege of my life. I still can’t really believe I got to be a part of it. I fell in love with the place the second I walked through the door.”
She continued: “It’s really hard to leave SNL but it does feel like the right time. I’m going to miss it a lot. But the people who work there are my family and that place is my home, and I know I’ll never be too far away. And I swear to God, one day, sometime in the future, they WILL make lipstick for thicc dogs.”
Fineman first joined the show in 2019, and became a key cast member during the pandemic-disrupted seasons that followed. She was particularly well known for her impersonations of celebrities including Melania Trump, Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman and Timothée Chalamet.
Saturday Night Live season 52 premieres September 26 with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson hosting and musical guest Katseye performing.
