Jay Pharoah finally opened up about his departure from “SNL”

Last year, we lost two Saturday Night Live VIPs. While Taran Killam has discussed the decision made by Lorne Michaels, Jay Pharoah was quiet about his SNL departure. Until now.

Pharoah chatted with HOT 97 about the gig, and it seems like the firing definitely took him by surprise. (And we can’t blame him — we were also shocked.) Pharoah, known best for his impressions —and his crazy-good Obama impersonation — was a welcomed addition to the cast.

In fact, in Pharoah’s eyes, he was underused. Since he landed the gig based on his uncanny ability to mimic a ton of celebrities, he felt like he was eventually put in an “impression box.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zj0UuBy4RI?feature=oembed

He also noted that Obama appearances started to become few and far between, which was rare for the show. After all, they’re big with politically-based sketches.

But the good news? Pharoah doesn’t hold anything against Michaels, the staff, or the show.

"Ain’t no beef with Lorne… we’re on good graces," he said.

He knows that it gave him some incredible exposure, and he still has a wonderful career ahead of him.

I'm back in NEW YORK NEXT WEEK @CarolinesonBway it's A HOMECOMING BYTCHES 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #StandupLife #ComedicBars pic.twitter.com/WeMno0on0e

— Jay Pharoah (@JayPharoah) April 6, 2017

Don’t forget that he hosted the 2016 American Music Awards, which is a huge honor. He also performs a bunch of big-city shows, where he has a little more control of his career path.

While we definitely miss him on the SNL cast, we’re ecstatic that he didn’t let the news get him down. Instead, he kept on working hard in the field he loves.