SNL has battled accusations of sexism and lack of respect for female cast members since the days of Rosanna Rosannadanna.

This weekend, news broke of the firings of two female cast members, Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson. Watkins in particular was well-liked, known for celeb send-ups such as her Hoda Kotb to Kristen Wiig’s obnoxious Kathie Lee. The women are being replaced by two new “girls,” but Saturday Night Live head honcho Lorne Michaels did seem to do a bit of the cliche breakup thing when giving the women their marching orders. And no male members were cut, even though I’m struggling right now to think of any male stand-out cast members on the show right now.

Watkins spoke to EW.com, and her tone was respectful but clearly flummoxed by Michaels’ “it’s not you, it’s me” routine. Said Watkins, wistfully:

The only explanation I got from him — and he’s not known to say things just to make people feel better — was that he felt deep down that I should have my own show. And I agreed. SNL was a dream come true for me. It was a fantastic year. I don’t have any regrets.

Watkins seems to be hopeful about the future, describing her initial reaction and where she expects to go career-wise from here:

Shock. And sadness [because] it just felt premature. But on some level I feel like there are so many opportunities and things that I want to do in the future and now they’ll just happen sooner rather than later.

It’s too bad they’ve replaced Watkins, as she was one of the genuinely funny cast members on the show. Hopefully Lorne Michaels was right about one thing, and she’ll get her own show soon enough.

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Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins have been signed to join Saturday Night Live and will both debut November 15.

21 year old Abby Elliott is the daughter of former SNL cast member Chris Elliott, making her the first child of a former cast member to be hired in the shows history. Elliot’s thin resume includes a stint voicing the character “Hipster Girl” on King of the Hill, and brief appearances on Chrissy: Plain & Simple and You’ve Reached the Elliotts.

Michaela Watkins is best known for her role as Lucy in the 4th season of The New Adventures of Old Christine. Her other appearances include Eli Stone, Californication, Grey’s Anatomy, Without A Trace, Malcolm in the Middle, Charmed and Medium.

The pair will be taking over from Amy Poehler.

(in part via MSNBC)

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