‘Saturday Night Live’ Loses Another Featured Player for Season 42

Pharoah was best known for playing President Barack Obama, Jay Z, Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington and former GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson. His exit creates an immediate void heading into the upcoming presidential election and Obama’s last days in office and leaves Michaels without a key ally. When the SNL creator found himself at the center of headlines in 2013 criticizing the long-running series over its lack of diversity — specifically its lack of black female actresses — Pharoah memorably tackled the issue head-on in a sketch with Kerry Washington in which the Scandal star impersonated multiple black women, including first lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, in the same sketch.

 

Killam, meanwhile, has been a big player in the current election cycle, impersonating Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, before Darrell Hammond returned to play the GOP presidential candidate. He also played Matthew McConaughey.

 

Killam recently said that SNL decided not pick up the final year of his seven-season contract. “I had sort of had it in my head I would make this upcoming year my last year, but then heard they weren’t going to pick up my contract,” he said. “I was never given a reason why, really.”