Jay Pharoah Slams 'SNL' After His Departure, Says He Wasn't 'Appreciated' Anymore

Jay Pharoah is opening up for the first time about his departure from Saturday Night Live.

The 29-year-old comedian shared in an interview with HOT 97 that he felt underappreciated on the hit sketch comedy show.

“You go where you’re appreciated,” Jay said. “They put people into boxes. Whatever they want you to do, they expect you to do. And I’m fiery too… I’m not a ‘yes n�”�”.’ That’s not me.”

In August, it was announced that Jay and cast mate Taran Killem would not be returning for the new season.

Jay – who was best known for his portrayals as President Barack Obama and Jay Z – also said that SNL “gave up” on Obama and didn’t let him portray the former president anymore.

“If you really noticed, for the last year and a half, they didn’t do any Obama sketches,” Jay said. “I was like, ‘Just let me do my character and we’ll be fine.’ [They] didn’t want to do that.”

Jay also claims that he was the one that pushed for diversity and is “the reason” that Leslie Jones and Sasheer Zamata were hired on the show.

Watch Jay Pharaoh‘s full interview below.