Kate McKinnon Breaks Silence on Reason Behind ‘SNL’ Release: ‘My Body Was Tired’

Live from “Saturday Night Live” retirement, it’s Kate McKinnon who, for the first time, opens up about her decision to step away from NBC’s long-running sketch series.

The comedian made her last appearance as a cast member on the show in May after an 11-season run, which earned her two Emmy trophies, eight nominations and a place in the history books for her impressions of a variety of celebrities and public figures, from Justin Bieber to Hillary Clinton.

“I thought about it for a really long time, and it was very, very hard,” McKinnon said on Thursday’s episode of “Live With Kelly and Ryan” about her coming out. according to Entertainment Weekly. “All I ever wanted to do with my whole life was be on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ So, I did it, I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was like, my body was tired and I felt like it was time.

McKinnon said she’s not sure if she’ll continue watching the series when it returns in the fall.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know if I can still watch the show because it’s too emo because I miss everyone so much. This is my family,” she added. “It’s too emo. So, I think I’ll just pick up ‘The Bachelorette’ and watch it.

In the cold open of her latest “SNL” episode, McKinnon reprized her fan-favorite character, Colleen Rafferty, who volunteered to be abducted by aliens.

Breaking up her character as tears welled up in her eyes, she gave an emotional farewell to viewers, saying, “Earth, I love you! Thank you for letting me stay a while.

The comedian, along with cast members Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney, left the show after the season 47 finale, setting the stage for a major cast shake-up.

Bryant, who joined the show in 2012 alongside McKinnon, previously explained why she made the decision to walk away, citing the uncertainty COVID-19 has brought to Studio 8H.

“If it hadn’t been for COVID, I probably would have left a few years earlier,” Bryant told Variety last month. “But it was a huge change. When COVID happened, it was so shocking that we were all like, ‘I’m definitely going to come back next year.’ And then I had to shoot ‘Shrill’ for half from last season, and so I missed a lot of things. And then it was like, ‘Well, now I should go back there again.'”

“I kept trying to look for a normal senior year,” she explained. “This year hasn’t been the normal year I was hoping for, but it was closer to that. It was like, ‘OK, it’s really time now.’ And 10 looked like a nice solid round number.

McKinnon, meanwhile, has kept busy since leaving the show with roles in Peacock’s “Joe vs. Carole” and the animated film “DC League of Super-Pets,” as well as a role in the upcoming and very fashionable live-action. Film “Barbie” by director Greta Gerwig.