Bowen Yang couldn’t fairly maintain it collectively for his closing Saturday Night time Stay sketch — however he nonetheless acquired some TLC from Ariana Grande and Cher.
Yang, 35, teared up throughout a holiday travel-themed sketch on Saturday, December 20, as Grande, 32, and Cher, 79, serenaded him with the festive basic “Please Come Residence for Christmas.” The sketch referenced Yang’s real-life departure from Saturday Night time Stay as he performed a Delta Sky Membership worker joined by outdated buddies on his last-ever shift.
“I can’t consider you’re retiring,” Grande informed him, with Yang explaining: “I simply wished to exit on prime!”
Grande’s character then quipped: “Everybody is aware of you’re a backside, honey!”
Because the trio continued to sing, each Yang and Grande acquired choked up and ultimately began to cry. Yang’s bittersweet closing sketch closed with him pulling Grande and Cher right into a hug as he bawled.
Earlier within the evening, Yang joined his Depraved: For Good costar Grande for a sendup of Mariah Carey’s festive basic “All I Need for Christmas Is You,” now retitled “What Do I Get for Christmas for This Dude” as an ode to the perils of vacation present shopping for.
Information broke on Friday, December 19, that Yang planned to leave SNL after its annual Christmas present, that includes Grande as host and Cher as musical visitor.
Yang opened up about his time on the present in a poignant goodbye note earlier than showtime on Saturday. He regarded again on becoming a member of SNL simply because the COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019 and credited the present with educating him “the worth in displaying up anyway when individuals make it worthwhile.”
Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande carry out with “Saturday Night time Stay” forged. Courtesy NBC
“I’m grateful for each minute of my time there. I realized about myself (dangerous with wigs). I realized about others (beneficiant, weak, scorching). I realized that human error could be nothing however right,” he recalled. “I realized that comedy is usually logistics and that it’ll normally fail till it doesn’t, which is the besssst.”
Yang then thanked his many buddies at SNL, including: “Thanks to each single one that confirmed up there: buddies and coworkers and audiences and hosts … Thanks to each forged member for making me chuckle and cry.”
There had been hypothesis that Yang would leave the NBC sketch show in Could when he was seen wistfully dancing with fellow forged member Sarah Sherman through the season 50 finale’s goodnights phase.
Depraved costars Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang proved besties do it higher through the Saturday, October 12, episode of Saturday Night time Stay. Grande, 31, returned to host Saturday’s episode — her second time emceeing the range present after 2016 — the place she confirmed off her enduring bond with Yang, 33. (Grande and Yang, in fact, […]
Nonetheless, Yang determined to return again for season 51, explaining that SNL creator Lorne Michaels personally inspired him to stay round.
“I’ve at all times passed by the intuition of, do I’ve extra to do? And I really feel like I do,” Yang informed People in September. “Even Lorne and I talked about it, and Lorne was like, ‘You may have extra to do,’ and meaning lots, as a result of I even confessed to him. I used to be like, ‘I really feel the viewers is possibly getting sick of me.’ And he was like, ‘That’s not true. There’s extra so that you can do. I would like you.’”
Yang went on, “I’ve to honor that. That man has modified my life, and I owe a variety of my life to that present. And I really like working there, the individuals are one of the best. I actually love every of them a lot.”
Previous to his exit, Yang missed an SNL season 51 episode in October to simply accept the Vantage Award at an Academy Museum of Movement Photos gala held on the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.
Saturday Night time Stay returns on NBC January 17, 2026, at 11:30 p.m. ET with Stranger Issues’ Finn Wolfhard as host and ASAP Rocky as musical visitor.
