Bowen Yang finally broke his silence on his mid-season departure from SNL. Yang first joined the show in 2019 and worked for seven seasons as a cast member. Yang will now conclude his journey with the release of the December 20 episode. Ahead of his final appearance, Bowen Yang wrote a heartfelt tribute on his Instagram."I loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people. i was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile," Yang wrote.The Wicked: For Good alum further expressed his gratitude and said that he learned a lot during his time at SNL."I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. i learned about myself (bad with wigs). i learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). i learned that human error can be nothing but correct. i learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst."Bowen Yang pens heartfelt thanks to SNL members ahead of exit View this post on Instagram Instagram PostIn his lengthy Instagram post, the comedian thanked his coworkers and audiences."Thank you celeste, sudi, will, alison, julio, fran, drez, bulla, marty, john, ben, jimmy, ceara, deetch, jake, asha, jack, auguste, tucker, kent, streeter, james, alex, jasmine, gary, and billy for writing with me. thank you to every cast member for making me laugh and cry. to liz and don. tom, jodi, louie, eamon. gena, chris, eddie. the crews, the pages. and to audrey, jameson, cassandra and chris for the fastest, funnest quick-changes in all of showbiz."Ariana Grande is hosting the farewell episode of Bowen Yang. In his post, the actor appreciated his co-star from Wicked: For Good."Thank you to ari for sending me off in the dreamiest way i could imagine," Yang wrote.Before concluding his tribute message, Yang also thanked SNL's producer, Lorne Michaels."Thank you to lorne for the job. for the standard. and for bringing everyone at work together. they all care deeply about people in the room, any room, enjoying themselves. i can’t believe i was ever included in that... The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready, but shiiiiit, i hope i am," Yang concluded.In the December 20 episode, legendary singer Cher will co-host the show with Grande.Bowen Yang was the first Asian cast member in SNL history. While the departure has been confirmed by the comedian, the reason behind it still remains unknown.Also read: What's Bowen Yang's dating history? Comedian's past relationship explored amid departure from Saturday Night Live