Cecily Strong Can’t Watch ‘SNL’ After Leaving the Show: ‘I Gotta Keep My Distance’

Cecily Strong finds it tough to watch NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” as a bystander after being a crucial member of the core cast of the show for over 11 seasons.

“I have to admit, it’s hard for me to watch the show right now,” Strong told Andy Cohen on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” earlier this week.

Strong, who holds the record for longest-tenured female cast member, left the show in December, midway through her 11th season. Her exit followed that of other longtime cast members like Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Chris Redd, all of whom left before the start of the season. By all accounts, she left long-running sketch show on great terms. Still, she agreed with Cohen when he compared the series to an ex-boyfriend.

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“I think next year I can start watching it,” Strong said. “It’s just such a big part of my life and there’s so many people that I love there. So I feel like I would just be in a swamp of sadness, just my heart would break. So I gotta keep my distance.”

“SNL” has nearly wrapped up its 48th season. A plan is already in the works for a huge 50th anniversary special in two years, and Strong says she’ll return for it alongside so many other legends of the comedy world that came to stardom through the iconic sketch show.

Strong clarified there has been no talks of her returning to host the show, as six-year veteran Molly Shannon did last Saturday, 22 years after her own exit.

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