Cecily Strong got an Elvis goodbye on Saturday when host Austin Butler — who was later joined by the rest of the SNL cast — ended the show with a performance of “Blue Christmas.”
Even Kenan Thompson had a solo during the bittersweet number for Strong, who is leaving Saturday Night Live after 11 seasons on the show. A post on social media from SNL‘s official Instagram account for the sketch show confirmed Strong’s exit earlier in the day.
Strong made her debut on SNL as a featured player on September 15, 2012, and was upped the following year starting with Season 39. The comedic star co-anchored the “Weekend Update” segment alongside Seth Meyers. When Meyers left to host Late Night, Strong continued to co-anchor the segment alongside SNL writer Colin Jost for one season.
Strong follows several SNL players out the door. Chris Redd is gone. Players Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor and Aristotle Athari were dropped before the start of Season 48. And last May, Deadline revealed that Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney were exiting in addition to Pete Davidson.
A blue Christmas, indeed.