Chris Redd clarifies his comments on selling prescription pills to SNL castmates, calling them facetious while discussing his struggles with pill abuse.
- January 17, 2026
AceShowbiz - Chris Redd is clarifying his previous comments about selling prescription pills to his fellow cast members on Saturday Night Live. In an interview with TMZ published on Thursday, Redd stated he was being “facetious” when discussing his alleged drug-dealing activities.
“I wasn’t drug dealing to my castmates. I wasn’t dropping off a pack,” the comedian explained. “I wasn’t Walter White-ing. I was trying to make light of it, because I was feeling super vulnerable and raw at the time.”
Redd, who was part of the SNL cast for five seasons, opened up about his struggles with pill abuse in a video shared on social media on January 6. During this clip, he recounted moments of “selling [pills] some to people, to some of my castmates.”
In his conversation with TMZ, Redd admitted to using Adderall and Xanax without a prescription. He revealed that he acquired these drugs illegally, driven by a fear of seeking medical help due to concerns that doctors might label him as “crazy.”
Despite his admissions, Redd firmly denounced the idea of engaging in any drug sales. “I had a full-time job as a comic,” he noted, drawing attention to the historical context of drug abuse among SNL cast members. “The drug issue at SNL was there before I was there, and I had nothing to do with that.”
He continued, “I just kind of worded it the way I worded it. I didn’t think [anybody] was really going to take it serious, because I wasn’t really in that way. And there are so many other things I was talking about.”
In the same Instagram video, Redd discussed his unexpected relationship with Kenan Thompson’s ex-wife, Christina Evangeline, stating that the affair was not planned.
Redd joined SNL during the 2017-18 season as a featured player and was later promoted to the main cast in 2019. His rise to prominence included winning an Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics for the song “Come Back Barack,” which he co-created with lyricists Kenan Thompson and Will Stephen, alongside composer Eli Brueggemann.
As Redd continues to navigate his career and personal life, he emphasizes the importance of addressing vulnerabilities and the challenges faced during his time on SNL.
