Contrary to many, many reports that have been circulating this past week (including one from TV Guide's Michael Ausiello a few days ago), Maya Rudolph has indeed left Saturday Night Live. The news is confirmed by NBC.
This is too bad. Rudolph really grew on me over the years, and I loved many characters she did, including Oprah, Whitney Houston, Donatella, and one half of those Bronx women who host a local cable show. Funny, I always thought that Amy Poehler would be next to leave, following Tina Fey to a career in movies and her own TV show. But Rudolph has been on the show for several seasons and good for her with going on to the next thing in her life.
SNL's season premiere is this Saturday, with guests Lebron James and Kanye West.
Update: Actually, she changed her mind and is now staying.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-25-2007 @ 3:10PM
tikirob said...
Sad...I always liked her characters. I hope she finds success. I think SNL needs to strip out the current cast and find some fresh talent. I can't watch it any more.
Rob
http://www.movie-cat.com
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9-25-2007 @ 3:31PM
Diego M said...
Is she the only one who left? hammond is still around? who are the new guys on the show? will we see more of the two a-holes? i hope so.
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9-25-2007 @ 3:40PM
TomB said...
Good Luck to Maya!!
She recently had a baby so maybe she and her S.O. or husband (?) are in a financial position for her to stay at home with baby for awhile.
Good luck to her! She as been one of my faves since she joined the cast.
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9-25-2007 @ 4:00PM
Jim said...
I think most people expected her to leave after last season, but this timing seems odd. Doesn't the show premiere this week?
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9-25-2007 @ 4:53PM
KevinO said...
Maya is my favorite at SNL. I love her. This sucks.
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9-25-2007 @ 4:35PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Good, she sucks.
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9-25-2007 @ 4:42PM
GigG said...
LaLaLaLaLa...LaLaLaLaLa... LaLaLaLaLa LaLaLaLa
She will be missed on the show. There hasn't been that much good on it the last few years.
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9-25-2007 @ 5:00PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Ausiello just posted (again) and it looks like she is not leaving the show after all:
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Maya-Rudolphs-Final/800022929?
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9-25-2007 @ 5:00PM
David said...
STOP THE PRESSES!!!
Entertainment Weekly has just reported that no, she's changed her mind and she WILL return after all!
Now if they'd only replace Kenan Thompson...
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9-25-2007 @ 5:02PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Here's the link to the EW mention David is talking about:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20058495,00.html
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9-25-2007 @ 5:08PM
lucyfan62 said...
YAY! She un-quit! Hmmm, maybe it was just a salary ploy. How could she just quit a week before the premiere anyway?! I guess NBC made her an offer she couldn't refuse! Well, I'm glad she's back...at least she is for the moment!
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9-25-2007 @ 5:14PM
David said...
I'm sure it was more about her baby and being bi-coastal with her husband, Paul Thomas Anderson. It must be really tough to balance all that. But I adore Maya, and I'm glad she's still here.
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9-25-2007 @ 9:55PM
corkdraw said...
I think I'm one of the few SNL viewers who never found her funny. A lot of Rudolph's characters make Molly Shannon (previously the most annoying woman ever on SNL) seem tolarable by comparison. She almost ruined Idiocracy for me with that awful sterotypical black lady voice she was using throughout the movie.
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9-26-2007 @ 9:43AM
rick cokely said...
I thought she was great in Idiocracy. I wouldn't say she made the movie for me but I enjoyed her performance. I kept sitting there thinking "Man, where I have I seen her before?!" and I realized she was SNL. I would rather see her move on to movies, I think she has a good career in that.
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9-27-2007 @ 11:57AM
kevjohn said...
Sad to say but she may have been the most interesting person on the show. This speaks more about the absolute mediocrity of the cast than to her overwhelming talent. If she's leaving I'll miss her Whitney Houston and her "that's why I'm Oprah!!".
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