SHAKE-UP BEGINS

SNL’s First Ever Out Trans Writer Is Leaving the Show

Lorne Michaels has promised a major shake-up at “Saturday Night Live” heading into the 51st season.

Saturday Night Live writer Celeste Yim is leaving the show after five seasons. “I’m leaving my job at Saturday Night Live. Lorne hired me over the phone when I was 23 and the job literally made all of my dreams come true,” Yim posted to Instagram Sunday night. They went on to acknowledge both the good and the bad that come with the coveted gig: “BUT it was also grueling and I slept in my office every week BUT my friends helped me with everything BUT I got yelled at by random famous men BUT some famous girls too BUT I loved it and I laughed every day and it’s where I grew up.” Yim, who identifies as trans and non-binary, was the first out trans writer in the show’s history and did not offer any reasons for their exit in the post. SNL boss Lorne Michaels promised a significant shake-up ahead of Season 51, with more staff exits and new faces expected to be announced over the next couple of weeks. Yim also shared in their post, “I always felt honored to be working within the long tradition of queer writing at the show,” and though, “I feel so powerless to protect trans people in the world... writing connects us and makes us permanent, so it’s what I will continue to do.”