AceShowbiz - Cecily Strong was supposed to appear as a guest in the cold open sketch in the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live". The comedienne, however, reportedly changed her mind at "last minute" and decided to pull herself out of anti-Semitic skit, which earned the show massive backlash.

According to the New York Post, the former "SNL" cast member was supposed to make her return to the NBC show by playing Rep. Elise Stefanik in the skit which was about the "genocide of Jews" hearing in Congress. The former cast member of the hit NBC show, however, backed out because she was said to be "uncomfortable with the sketch."

A TV source told the news outlet, "There were a variety of reasons, and last minute Cecily pulled out of the cold open." Cecily allegedly participated in the dress rehearsal for the controversial sketch, but was eventually replaced by newcomer Chloe Troast when the show went on air.

Set on Capitol Hill, the sketch, which many deemed "tone-deaf", saw Rep. Stefanik grilling university presidents about anti-Semitism on campuses. It also featured a mix-up with the nameplates in front of stars Heidi Gardner, who portrayed former UPenn president Elizabeth Magill, and Chloe Fineman, who played MIT president Sally Kornbluth.

One of the critics was Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "The skit was atrocious. The sentiment even more appalling." Meanwhile, former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman said, "Just saw last night's SNL opener. Whether or not you care, or however you feel, about antisemitism on college campuses, this just wasn't funny."

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman also criticized "SNL" over the skit, which he dubbed the "most embarrassing" he had ever even. "Unfortunately, this is not surprising… SNL hasn't had their finger on the pulse for about a decade now; they're about as out of touch with reality as Liz Magill… This is probably the most embarrassing decision in SNL's history," he continued.