‘SNL’ Star Reveals Why She ‘Had’ to Leave When She Did

Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones, 59, has revealed why she felt compelled to leave the show.

“If they had got me when I was 23, 25, I would have stayed there 20 years at least,” she told Obsessed: The Podcast .

“I definitely would have stayed there.

Bad, good, whatever.

I would have stayed.” Jones was a cast member on SNL from 2014 through 2019.

She came from a stand-up comedy background and joined the show at 47—much later in life than many of her castmates.

SNL was central to her growth as a comedian and her success in the entertainment industry, but for Jones, it wasn’t a means to an end.

“For me, when I got there, I was 47,” she said.

“So in my heart, I felt like I was on a time clock anyway.

And yes, I could have stayed the rest of my days there, but I was a different person at SNL ; I was not doing everything that I wanted to do.

You know, I want to be a stand-up.

I want to do some drama.

I want to do other things.” SNL was an education in all things comedy and show business, Jones said.

It prepared her for the rest of her career and gave her a space to further hone her skills.