Kate McKinnon Reveals Why She Left 'SNL,' Delivers the Opening Monologue With Help from Kristen Wiig & Maya Rudolph

Kate McKinnon is back on Saturday Night Live, and she kicked off the December 16 episode with the opening monologue!

The 39-year-old comedian and Barbie star was a longtime SNL fan-favorite before leaving in 2022. She returned for the newest episode alongside musical guest Billie Eilish.

During the opening monologue, she joked about why she left the late-night show behind, talked her summer blockbuster and sang a song with some special guests.

Read more about Kate McKinnon’s opening monologue…

Kate opened the monologue by reintroducing herself.

“I used to work here and now I’m back at my old job,” she said. “This is weird. It’s so weird to be doing the monologue. I don’t really like to talk in my own voice. That’s kind of why I got in this.”

As for why she left SNL, she joked that her “skin was reacting poorly to the prosthetics.” She added that her experience with the opening monologue was very specific: “I’ve never been myself in a monologue before. I normally played the role of freak next to hot person.”

On the topic of Barbie, she joked about her role. “I played the character called Weird Barbie. I walked in on the first day, and they were like, ‘Oh my god you look perfect.’ I was like, ‘These are my clothes.’”

Saying that she was “required to sing,” Kate brought out a tiny piano and put a spin on a Christmas song.

“I’ll be home for Christmas. I live close, it’ll be easy for me. Feed me figs and make me wigs. Reactivate my ID,” she sang. She was later joined by fellow SNL alums Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig to close out the monologue with another song.

We’ll get this post updated once the monologue is available online and let you know if anything else big happens tonight!