Michael Che Hints At Leaving ‘Weekend Update’
After spending eight years at the “Weekend Update” desk on “Saturday Night Live,” co-anchor Michael Che said he is leaving his post on the NBC comedy sketch show.
On Friday night, the comedian appeared at a pop-up event at Steller Hair Co. in Minneapolis, where he briefly spoke about his upcoming exit from the show.
“This is my last year,” Che said during his stand-up set. “You know my tie is a clip-on, right? What man wears a clip-on tie to work for eight years — that’s embarrassing.”
Che, 38, co-anchors “Weekend Update” with Colin Jost. In January, Che broke former host Seth Meyers’ record for having the most appearances on the “SNL” fake news segment.
Although the New York native initially focused on his “Weekend Update” gig and his position as a co-head writer on the iconic NBC sketch show, he has recently begun to extend his name to other projects.
In 2021, Che landed a Netflix comedy special “Michael Che: Shame the Devil” and an HBO Max series “That Damn Michael Che.”
Meanwhile, his surprise appearance at the Steller Hair Co. saw the comedian testing out new stand-up material for the crowd.
Che’s appearance at the business came after comedy host Casey Flesch contacted the salon’s owner Katie Steller. “I got the call four hours before showtime,” she said.
Steller revealed some of the stylists were still working on clients prior to 8:30 p.m. when the doors opened for customers.
Che’s latest stand-up performance comes after he made a surprise appearance on Thursday at the Sisyphus Brewing in Minneapolis.
The comedian initially took part in a Q&A at Winona State University that same evening, and later drove more than two hours to participate in Sisyphus’ open mic night.
Owner Sam Harriman was contacted by Che’s assistant, who asked him to extend the open mic night for an extra hour until Che arrived. Once he began his performance, Che reportedly tested out new material on the patrons.
Although Che told guests he was leaving “Saturday Night Live” during his stand-up act on Friday, he has not made an official announcement regarding his exit from the long-running NBC series.
Photo: Will Heath/NBC