Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chris Redd is finally addressing rumors surrounding his relationship with Kenan Thompson’s ex wife, which he says led to his exit from the late-night sketch series.
In a six-minute video posted Tuesday on Instagram, Redd comes clean about his past struggles with anxiety and prescription drug use that he refers to as “pill popping.” (“Nothing too crazy, but crazy for my Black ass,” he says.) The comedian reveals that during his time on “SNL,” he sometimes sold pills to others (attributing this to ongoing mental health issues), but assures his former castmates that, “I’m not gonna snitch on y’all motherf—kers.”
Redd also discusses his relationship with Thompson’s ex-wife Christina Evangeline, a rumor that had been circulating since Redd’s “SNL” departure. In the video, he insists the relationship was not premeditated, but rather developed as the two connected over personal struggles, past experiences, and therapy journeys. He calls Evangeline, “the only one to call me on my s—t, help me with my s—t, she helped me with my therapy journey, and she told me things about her life that made me look at a lot of people involved in it differently.”
TVLine has reached out to NBC/”SNL” for comment.
Redd emphasizes that he felt bad from the very beginning of the relationship, feeling conflicted due to his respect for Thompson and their time co-starring in both “SNL” and Thompson’s NBC sitcom “Kenan.”
“In that time, we fell in love and I felt bad from the start,” he said. “It’s always felt like an emotional double-edged sword for me, because I really love everything me and Kenan did, bro. I really appreciated every piece of work we put together, I think that we were a great team, and I hate doing something to somebody that I know would hurt them.”
According to Redd, he discussed the situation privately with Thompson at the time, and the two continued working together for one year afterward. Things changed, however, once the relationship was revealed to others. It was at that point that Redd was let go from “SNL.”
The comedian says his remarks are not about retaliation, but are part of his efforts to be more transparent about mistakes he feels he made, and to apologize to fans and colleagues he may have disappointed.
Redd joined “SNL” ahead of its 43rd season, making his debut alongside Heidi Gardner. He served as a cast member for five seasons before departing before Season 48.