Kate McKinnon Jokes About 'Being Back at Her Old Job' in First Return to SNL Since Departing Cast in 2022

Kate McKinnon's Christmas wish has come true: she made it home to Studio 8H.

The Barbie actress, 39, hosted the Saturday Night Live mid-season finale — marking her first return to the sketch comedy series since leaving the show in 2022 — with a joke about being "back at her old job."

McKinnon immediately kicked off her monologue by listing the reasons she left the show, which included the fact that her "skin was reacting poorly to the prosthetics." She did, however, also note that she had a big year, including her stint as "Weird Barbie" in the massive hit movie, Barbie.

"I walked in [the Barbie set] on the first day and they were like, 'You look perfect,' and I was like, 'These are my clothes,' " she said, referencing her character's outlandish wardrobe choices.

McKinnon joked that she wasn't all that comfortable being herself in the opening monologue, explaining that she's used to playing characters and making up funny voices. She said that since she left SNL, she had been trying to "assemble a human personality" other than playing the role of the "freak next to the hot person" in sketches. To illustrate exactly what she meant, the show cut to some of the actress' most memorable characters, including dressing as Hunger Games' eccentric character Effie Trinkett next to host Josh Hutcherson and as a victorian lady next to Martin Freeman — costumes which she called "awesome."

Since it was the Christmas season, McKinnon even flexed her singing chops while pretending to play a mini-piano, noting that she was "required to sing" by the show's creator Lorne Michaels. So, she opted to sing her own special rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" with her lyrics being what she told Michaels after he asked her to host.

McKinnon went on to say that the best part about returning to SNL was running into old friends. With that, she also welcomed fellow SNL alums Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig with her on stage. Wiig noted that it was "so great to be back [with] so many memories." The pair even jokingly listed their feats since leaving the show — with Wiig listing Taylor Swift's accomplishments and Rudolph listing Beyoncé's as their own.

McKinnon appeared in her final episode as a cast member in the May 2022 season finale. She had joined the cast during season 37 in 2012. At the time, she was the first openly lesbian cast member to join the series.

The actress currently holds the record for the longest a woman has stayed on the show's lineup, according to Entertainment Weekly.

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Later last year, McKinnon expanded upon her decision to walk away from the show. During an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan, "I thought about it for a very long time, and it was very, very hard," she said. "All I ever wanted to do in my whole life was be on Saturday Night Live. So, I did. I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was just like, my body was tired, and I felt like it was time."

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.