Did Punkie Johnson Leave ‘SNL’ After Losing Out on Getting to Play Kamala Harris?

While most everyone was expected back for Saturday Night Live’s golden anniversary season, at least one comic has decided to sit this one out. Punkie Johnson spoke to LateNighter earlier today and confirmed that she “will not be returning to SNL in Season 50.”

The news found its way to Twitter hours earlier after Johnson talked about her decision to quit during a live comedy show in Brooklyn last night. “Punkie is leaving SNL, she said this was fine to share online so I guess Twitter is the first to know. It definitely wasn’t a joke either like she’s actually gone and she’s very happy about it,” wrote one person who attended the show.

Johnson has yet to make an official statement on her departure, but a check of her social media makes the tea leaves relatively easy to read. In mid-July, she reposted multiple tweets arguing that SNL should give her the Kamala Harris part this election season over Maya Rudolph, the show veteran who has played the sitting vice president 10 times since 2019. 

Johnson did get one crack at Harris on the Josh Brolin episode earlier this year, but she was relegated to clapping behind Mikey Day’s Joe Biden. She had no lines in the sketch.

If Johnson was lobbying internally for the part, she got officially rejected when SNL announced Rudolph would return to play Harris for the duration of the election cycle. Rudolph already has won two Emmy Awards for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Harris, so it’s hard to blame the show for sticking with one of its most decorated alumni. LateNighter reports that Johnson's decision to leave came just hours after the Rudolph news broke. 

Had Johnson landed the Harris role, it would finally have given her a toehold on a show that’s been reluctant to give her airtime. According to the statheads at the SNL Network, Johnson ranked second-to-last in screen time in Season 49, including a dead-last finish among full cast members. 

The previous season was even worse, with Johnson appearing less often than any other cast member. I predicted Johnson was in trouble at the time — historically, cast members with the least screen time don’t get asked back the following year. Had Johnson landed the Kamala Harris impression, she would have automatically shot up the rankings thanks to a surefire character in every cold open until the election and possibly beyond. 

It’s no wonder she was lobbying for the part. And with the Maya Rudolph decision, it’s no wonder Johnson has decided to move on.