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Brooks Wheelan: ‘SNL’ Cast Member Fired After One Season — Confirmed
Brooks Wheelan tweeted on July 14 that he had been fired from ‘Saturday Night Live’, and a new report has confirmed his departure.
“FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!” Brooks Wheelan tweeted on July 14, very clearly indicating that he had just been let go from Saturday Night Live following one short season. While NBC has yet to respond to requests for comment on the situation, a new report has confirmed Brooks’ departure. Details below!
Brooks Wheelan Fired From ‘SNL’ — Report Confirms ‘Saturday Night Live’ Departure
“The first year featured player had a standard one-year contract given to all SNL newbies, and Wheelan’s contract was not picked up,” a source revealed to The Wrap.
Of the new SNL cast members, Brooks seemed to receive far more screen time than fellow newbies John Milhiser or Beck Bennett — could they also be on the chopping block?
Brooks Wheelan Was Best Known For His Weekend Update Segments
Brooks was best known for his Weekend Update segments in which he cautioned against the kind of irresponsible behavior he’s been prone to his whole life. For example, on a segment about tattoos, he shows off a nautical star tattoo, the meaning of which was simply that he “shouldn’t be trusted with his own thoughts,” and a nonsensical seascape tattoo, which he received while growing up in Iowa — a landlocked state — having never seen the ocean.
Funnily enough, Brooks also mentioned in the above segment that he once got fired for some “questionable tweets.” That said, was tweeting the news of his firing prior to NBC’s official announcement the wisest move?
The 40th season of Saturday Night Live is approaching this fall, and with it, a number of changes. “We’re still in the middle of rebuilding. So, there will be changes this year,” showrunner Lorne Michaels told Deadline in June. Indeed, while the show certainly has some strong repertory players, SNL lost its footing slightly following the departures of Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, and Bill Hader.
What do you think, HollywoodLifers? Are you sad to see Brooks go? Did you enjoy his work on SNL? Will any other featured players be getting the axe? Let us know.
— Amanda Michelle Steiner
Follow @AmandaMichl
