Chloe Fineman revealed Lorne Michaels was at the World Cup semifinals when she called him to tell him she was leaving “Saturday Night Live.”
“He was, in classic form, he was watching England vs. Argentina,” the comedian told Variety at Apple TV’s “The Dink” premiere in Los Angeles on Monday.
“He was doing, like, the coolest thing in the world with the coolest people, but we had a lovely talk.”
Fineman, 38, remembered Michaels, 81, answering the phone and telling her, “I’ll call you back, I’m at the game.”
“I was like, the soccer game?” Fineman recalled. “I made a joke, I was like, ‘I assume you’re rooting for England because you’re energetically very British?’”
Fineman said once the “SNL” boss called her back, they “had a really lovely chat” about her decision.
Fineman announced her departure from the sketch comedy series via Instagram Thursday.
“After 7 wonderful seasons at ‘SNL’ I have decided it’s time for my next chapter,” she captioned her post. “It’s cliche to say this but working at ‘SNL’ has been the greatest privilege of my life. I still can’t really believe I got to be a part of it.”
Fineman, who joined the NBC show for Season 45 in 2019, said while it’s “hard” to leave the program, she believes it’s “the right time”
“I’m going to miss it a lot,” she shared. “But the people who work there are my family and that place is my home, and I know I’ll never be too far away.”
Page Six heard Fineman quit “SNL” hours after she was offered a role in David E. Kelley’s new Netflix drama series, “Myron Bolitar.”
“It happened very quickly,” an insider told us. “Chloe went back and forth, but it was a smart move — she knew she couldn’t say no.”
Sources also claimed Fineman had tension with other “SNL” co-stars, which allegedly contributed to her exit.
“Chloe could rub people the wrong way at times,” our insider said. “She got along really well with some cast members, but not everyone clicked with her.”
The source added, “Some cast members felt like she expected people to accommodate her and assumed everyone would adjust to her schedule and preferences.”
However, a second source close to the show exclusively told us, “There’s no truth to this.”
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