After five seasons and a bunch of laughs, Leslie Jones has decided to walk away from “Saturday Night Live,” according to Variety.
Jones joined the cast of the long-running sketch show in 2014 after first being one of the writers. She’s now looking to further her movie career and may do more stand-up comedy as well.
Earlier this month, during a visit to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” the 51-year-old said although sketch comedy and acting were “great,” stand-up comedy is what she really does.
Jones has a Netflix comedy special coming as well, which will be filmed on Sept. 10 inside Washington’s Warner Theatre.
She’s also been cast in the sequel to “Coming to America” alongside Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Wesley Snipes, Tracy Morgan, James Earl Jones and others. So her plate is pretty full at the moment.
Currently, the actress can now be heard voicing the character of Zeta in “The Angry Birds Movie 2.” Plus, she’ll make an appearance in the upcoming film “I Am Maurice,” an independent boxing flick executive produced by Damon Wayans Jr. and Jones’ fellow “SNL” cast mate Michael Che.
She hasn’t announced the news of leaving “SNL” on her Instagram or Twitter pages yet, but her fans have already begun sending well-wishes.
“I’m so sad you are leaving SNL,” wrote one of Jones’ Instagram followers. “You are fantastic! Can’t wait to see you in more movies.”
“Been rocking with you way before SNL and I will continue to do so. Continued blessings on your next journey. 🙏🏾💜,” someone else wrote.
“So sad to see you go,” another person commented.
Jones was certainly a favorite among viewers for her in-your-face comedy approach on “SNL.” She was also among just a handful of black women who have been regulars on the show during the 44 years it has been on air.
