Comedian Chris Redd Clarifies Viral Claims About Selling Pills to ‘SNL’ Castmates: ‘I Was Being Facetious’

Comedian Chris Redd Clarifies Viral Claims About Selling Pills to ‘SNL’ Castmates: ‘I Was Being Facetious’

Chris Redd is walking back headlines after previously suggesting he sold prescription pills to fellow cast members during his time on Saturday Night Live. The comedian, who spent five seasons on the long-running sketch show, now says his remarks were misunderstood.

In a new interview with TMZ, Redd explained that he was speaking loosely while opening up about a painful period in his life. “I was being facetious about the drug-dealing thing,” he said. “I wasn’t drug dealing to my castmates. I wasn’t dropping off a pack. I wasn’t Walter White-ing.”

Redd initially addressed his struggles in a Jan. 6 social media video, where he admitted to having “pill problems” while on SNL and referenced selling pills “to some of my castmates.” He later clarified that he did use Adderall and Xanax without a prescription, obtaining them illegally because he feared seeking medical help. Still, he emphasized he was “not selling.”

“I had a full-time job as a comic,” Redd said, adding context to his comments by pointing to SNL’s long-documented history with substance abuse. “The drug issue at SNL was there before I was there, and I had nothing to do with that.”

Redd admitted he didn’t expect his words to be taken so literally, saying he was in a vulnerable headspace and discussing multiple issues at once. “I just kind of worded it the way I worded it,” he said, noting that the focus of his message went beyond that single remark.

In the same recent video, Redd also addressed his past relationship with Christina Evangeline, the ex-wife of former SNL co-star Kenan Thompson, describing the situation as unplanned. Redd joined SNL in the 2017–18 season and was promoted to the main cast in 2019 following his Emmy win for the song “Come Back Barack.”