Bowen Yang breaks down in tears in latest SNL sketch with Ariana Grande
Bowen Yang couldn’t quite keep it together for his finale Saturday evening live sketch – but it still got some TLC from it Ariana Grande And Cher.
Yang, 35, was in tears during a sketch with a holiday travel theme on Saturday, Dec. 20, when Grande, 32, and Cher, 79, serenaded him with the festive classic “Please Come Home for Christmas.” The sketch referenced Yang’s departure from real life Saturday evening live as he played a Delta Sky Club employee accompanied by old friends during his last ever shift.
“I can’t believe you’re retiring,” Grande told him, while Yang explained, “I just wanted to reach the top!”
Grande’s character then joked, “Everyone knows you’re a bottom, honey!”
As the trio continued to sing, both Yang and Grande became choked up and eventually began to cry. Yang’s bittersweet final sketch ended with him pulling Grande and Cher into a hug while bawling.
Earlier in the evening, Yang joined his Bad: forever Costar Grande for a shipment by Mariah Carey‘s festive classic ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’, now retitled ‘What Do I Get for Christmas for This Dude’, as an ode to the perils of buying Christmas gifts.
On Friday, December 19, news broke that Yang was planning to leave SNL after the annual Christmas show, with Grande as host and Cher as musical guest.
Yang opened up about his time on the show in a poignant farewell note before the show on Saturday. He looked back on his accession SNL just as the COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019 and the show is credited with teaching him “the value of still showing up when people make it worth it.”
Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande perform with the cast of “Saturday Night Live.”
Courtesy of NBC“I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. I learned about myself (bad with wigs). I learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). I learned that human error can only be correct,” he recalls. “I learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that most of the time it will fail until it doesn’t, and that’s for the best.”
Yang then thanked his many friends at SNLand added: “Thank you to everyone who showed up there: friends and colleagues and audience and presenters… Thank you to every cast member for making me laugh and cry.”
There was speculation that Yang would leave the NBC sketch show in May when he was seen wistfully dancing with another cast member Sarah Sherman during the goodnight segment of the season 50 finale.
Evil costars Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang proved that besties do it better during the Saturday, October 12, episode of Saturday Night Live. Grande, 31, returned to host Saturday’s episode — her second time hosting the variety show after 2016 — where she showed off her enduring bond with Yang, 33. (Grande and Yang of course, […]
However, Yang decided to come back for season 51 and explained that SNL Creator Lorne Michaels personally encouraged him to stay.
“I’ve always followed the instinct of, ‘Do I have more to do? And I feel like I do,” Yang said People in September. “Even Lorne and I were talking about it, and Lorne said, ‘You have more to do,’ and that means a lot, because I even admitted it to him. I was like, ‘I feel like the audience might be getting tired of me.’ And he said, ‘That’s not true. There is more you can do. I need you. ”
Yang continued, “I have to honor that. That man changed my life, and I owe a lot of my life to that show. And I love working there, the people are the best. I truly love each and every one of them so much.”
Prior to his departure, Yang missed one SNL episode of season 51 in October to accept the Vantage Award at an Academy Museum of Motion Pictures gala at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.
Saturday evening live returns on NBC on January 17, 2026 at 11:30 PM ET with Stranger things‘ Finn Wolfhard as host and As soon as possible Rocky as musical guest.
