Brooks Wheelan Explains Why He Was Fired From ‘Saturday Night Live’

Now former Saturday Night Live cast member, Brooks Wheelan, has honestly been one of the coolest one-season SNL cast members ever. Barely anyone remembers him from the show, but he’s been making quite a name for himself post-SNL by making fun of his own firing. In fact, he announced it on Twitter before the show could with a joke, he goofed about his “Best Of SNL” DVD (“So stoked to see mine. Bet it’s super long…”), and even his stand-up tour is making light of the situation: “The Brooks Wheelan Falls Back on Stand Up Comedy (sorta) Tour.”

This week, he also talked with The Wrap about his time on the show, and why he thinks he was fired. He also said that he’s trying to make as much hay as possible about his firing, and using it to feed his comedy.

I’ve gotta make light of it. Make it like, “Yeah, I’m not bummed out. I’m gonna move forward. This is a great career advancement for me. I’m just gonna go back to doing standup.” I don’t have any ill feelings toward the show at all. They were really cool for putting me on it. But I’m going to make fun of getting fired, for sure.

The truth is, he said, is that he expected to get fired. “As soon as I got hired I was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna get fired. I was totally mentally prepared to get fired. So when I did get fired, I was like, ‘Yeah, that adds up.’”

The reason Wheelan believes he was fired is the same reason we all believe he was fired: There were just too many cast members.

I feel like I was hired because they hired so many new cast members, and I feel like I was let go because they hired too many new cast members. So I can’t really fault them. That’s part of the reason I was there and that’s part of the reason I was let go. … They do their own stuff and they clearly know what works.

Wheelan has had a great perspective on his firing, though. He has no ill feelings toward the show. He thinks its really cool that he got to be on it in the first place, and he thinks it will be a huge career advancement. “People are like, “Oh, what a bummer. You got fired from ‘Saturday Night Live.’” People get fired from jobs all the time. I got fired from a cool job.”

It really one of the best jobs from which you can get fired.

Source: The Wrap

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