Kenan Thompson needs some help understanding Morgan Wallen’s quick exit.
The Saturday Night Live star admitted that like viewers he too was confused after the “Last Night” singer quickly left the stage during the final goodbyes of the March 29 episode, where he appeared as a musical guest.
“I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they decide to do stuff like that,” Kenan—who is the longest running SNL cast member—told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published March 31. “I don’t know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way.”
“You see somebody before you get a chance to say hi or say good job or anything like that, they just dipping,” he continued. “I thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something.”
At the long running late-night sketch comedy series, the goodnights, during which the cast and guests hug it out and congratulate one another while the credits roll, is something of a tradition.
And Morgan let the viewers (and cast members) talk after he was spotted at the end of the show giving a hug to host Mikey Madison before swiftly exiting through the audience without acknowledging any of the cast members on stage.
Shortly after his exit, the “I’m The Problem” singer shared a picture of a private jet on his Instagram Story, alongside a caption that read, “Get me to God’s country.”
And given Morgan’s sudden departure wasn’t standard, it definitely raised eyebrows.
“It’s definitely a spike in the norm,” Kenan, 46, told EW. “We’re so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us, everybody’s saying, ‘Good job, good job, good job.’ So when there’s a departure from that, it’s like, hmm, I wonder what that’s about?”
He added, “Seems like a complicated individual, I guess.”
In fact, there’s only been one guest Kenan has said make a quick exit.
“Prince did the same thing,” he said. “I’m not saying Morgan Wallen is Prince, but we weren’t surprised because Prince was notoriously kind of standoffish. It’s just how he was. So, we just thought like, ‘Okay, now he’s gone back into fantasyland.'”
“But Saturday I guess it was just different because it just felt so abrupt,” he added. “And it was already such a small grouping on the stage anyway. So, it was just like, oh wow, that was pretty visible. You know what I’m saying? It was a pretty visible thing.”
Kenan wasn’t the only person in the SNL family to react to Morgan’s departure, which quickly became a meme online.
Writer Josh Patten put his own spin on the moment when he shared a picture on his Instagram Story March 30, of a Krispy Kreme truck alongside the caption, “Get me to God’s country.”
Keep reading for more memorable Saturday Night Live moments…
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Kim Kardashian
The Kardashians star poked fun at her relationship with ex Kanye West, her connection to O.J. Simpson and her sister Kourtney Kardashian‘s PDA-heavy romance with now-husband Travis Barker. But she really took flight in an Aladdin-themed sketch that saw her kiss cast member Pete Davidson. The pair would go on to date for nine months.
Tom Hanks
With 10 hosting gigs under his belt—including the show’s first remotely-filmed episode back in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic—you know that when America’s Dad is in Studio 8H, you’re in for a wonderful time. Don’t believe us? We have just three words for you: David. S. Pumpkins.
Jon Hamm
Hamm left audiences stunned with his considerable comedic chops when he hosted for the first time in 2008. He’s has sinced followed up two more times and has had a handful of surprise cameos.
From his unforgettable “Jon Hamm’s John Ham” sketch—you know, lunch meat you eat on the toilet—to his live-action Ace in an adaptation of the iconic Ambiguously Gay Duo animated sketch, he’s ingratiated himself with cast in a way few other hosts ever have.
Melissa McCarthy
There is arguably no one on this planet more committed to their craft than the Bridesmaids legend. Case in point? The “Taste Test” sketch in her first at bat as host, back in 2011, when she covered herself in Hidden Valley ranch dressing for a gag.
In less than a decade, she’s already joined the infamous Five-Timers Club, and even began making semi-regular appearances a particularly enraged Sean Spicer during his brief tenure in the Trump administration.
Justin Timberlake
Nearly every celeb on this list could’ve become a full-time cast member on SNL, easily. And for a time there, it seemed like JT actually might. From “Omletteville,” “D–k in a Box,” and “Barry Gibb Talk Show” to “Mother Lover,” each of Timberlake’s five appearances as host made moments that permeated pop culture. And his appearance as one of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies” back-up dancers alongside Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg? Amazing.
Steve Martin
There are few people who have hosted SNL more than the legendary comedian—in fact, there’s only one—and in his 16 stints in Studio 8H between 1976 and 2009, he created memorable characters (the “wild and crazy” Festrunk Brothers, King Tut) and delivered what would become one of the show’s most heartfelt moments, honoring Gilda Radner‘s passing from cancer with a look back at a blissful dance the two shared through the studio.
Scarlett Johansson
Not only is ScarJo part of the SNL family thanks to her romance with Colin Jost, but the six-time host has created some indelible moments over the years since her debut in 2006.
She’s been on hand for whenever the show needed someone to step into Ivanka Trump‘s shoes, appeared in the grotesque Shud the Mermaid sketch opposite Kate McKinnon and played Lexi (daughter to Fred Armisen‘s Mark) as the duo hawk chandeliers, ceramic busts, marble columns and porcelain fountains in the fan-favorite sketch.
Betty White
Unlike everyone else on this list (save for Kim Kardashian), the late TV icon only hosted SNL once. And, at 88 years old, she became the show’s oldest host in its history. The appearance was made even more special because it was literally fan-demanded through a successful Facebook campaign after White’s role in The Proposal.
She’s also on this list because, well, she was freaking hilarious. Our favorite sketch from the episode is this absurd one where Tina Fey‘s census taker tries, in vain, to get a straight answer out of White.
Dwayne Johnson
A member of the Five Timer’s Club, Johnson earned his spot on this list the minute he agreed to do The Rock Obama. Enough said.
Alec Baldwin
With 17 official hosting gigs on his resume and countless appearances as former President Donald Trump, Baldwin may be the only star not officially on the payroll who is more closely associated with SNL.
From classics like Canteen Boy and Schweddy Balls to impressions of Tony Bennett and, yes, Trump, Baldwin has given fans so much during his many, many visits to Studio 8H.
