Although Pete Davidson was featured in many headlines over the weekend about a major cast shakeup at “Saturday Night Live,” many believe it’s the loss of Kate McKinnon that deserves the most attention.
Davidson, 28, has become major click-bait after he started dating Kim Kardashian, put up with being publicly threatened by her ex-husband, Kanye West, and escorted the reality TV star wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday” dress to the Met Gala.
McKinnon hasn’t done anything as splashy outside of her work of “SNL,” but she’s been “the heart” of the popular, late-night sketchy comedy show for the past decade, according to tributes that poured in from critics and from on social media over the weekend. She’s also the cast member that the show and its fans will probably miss the most,
In addition to Davidson and McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney also are leaving the show.
McKinnon, who won two Emmys and was nominated for nine in her 10 seasons on the show, is known for her deft impressions of politicians, celebrities and public figures, both female and male, as well as for creating an amazing variety of so-called regular-people characters over the years.
Many on social media weren’t happy that entertainment sites and other outlets gave first billing to Davidson, who joined the cast in 2014, even as some said they didn’t want to take anything away from his talent or contributions.
Others thought it was unfortunate that both McKinnon and Bryant, who joined “Saturday Night Live” the same year as McKinnon, didn’t get more attention in initial reports about the cast shakeup. Bryant has earned four Emmy nominations of her own.
McKinnon, 38, moved seamlessly from playing Hillary Clinton, Kellyanne Conway, Angela Merkel and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to parodying Jeff Sessions and Rudy Giuliani. She also inhabited the personalities of senior-cat-adoption advocate Barbara DeDrew, classic Hollywood B-movie star Debette Goldry and alien abductee Colleen Rafferty.
As the Atlantic writer Amanda Wicks said, McKinnon’s most significant contribution to the show was that she was a consummate repertory player on a show that ultimately is about the ensemble — not individual stars. She started as a featured player on “SNL” in 2012, during the season just before the show experienced another major cast shake-up, losing Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis. and Seth Meyers to new opportunities.
“It’s never easy when SNL loses such formidable talent in bulk, and McKinnon stepped in to carry a lot of that slack as a repertory player,” Wicks said.
While McKinnon could easily win the spotlight, she also was “an equally adept scene partner,” Wicks continued. “She didn’t use her talents to isolate herself. Instead, she put nervous hosts at ease and warmly made room for everyone to do their best. The results read on camera: She always seemed like she was having the most fun.”
News broke before the 47th season finale Saturday night that McKinnon, Davidson, Bryant and Mooney were leaving. “SNL” didn’t officially confirm the departures, but the tributes began pouring in.
If nothing else, the show gave McKinnon its premiere spot Saturday night to say good-bye. In the cold open, she played one of her recurring characters, alien abductee Colleen, who shared wildly descriptive details of her recent alien encounter with Pentagon intelligence officials.
Toward the end of the skit, Colleen volunteered to leave Earth with a group of aliens as part of a deal with the government to secure extraterrestrial technology.
As McKinnon’s Colleen walked up the ramp into the alien spacecraft, she turned and said, with evident emotion, “Well, Earth. I love you. Thanks for letting me stay awhile.” Standing in the door of the spacecraft, she announced: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”
Davidson, who joined “SNL” at age 20, was gracious in his goodbye. The stand-up comedian appeared on the “Weekend Update” segment of the show, as always using a monologue format to discuss more personal matters, such as his struggles with mental illness.
On Saturday, Davidson spoke openly of his departure and his affection for “SNL,” while also poking fun at the way his personal life often overshadowed his comedy work.
“I became hugely successful from barely showing up to work,” Davidson said, suggesting that this was typical of being a White guy. He referred to his whirlwind engagement to singer Ariana Grande, and how the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels, told him that the relationship was doomed.
Davidson also said, “I remember when I auditioned for SNL, Lorne looked me right in the eye and said, ‘I don’t … think you’re right for this show, so let’s screw this up together,'” Davidson said. “And that’s exactly what we did.”
“Like if anything, I should inspire hope,” he said. “Literally anyone could be on ‘Saturday Night Live.’
“I appreciate SNL always having my back and allowing me to work on myself and grow,” an emotional Davidson said.
