Kenan Thompson Not Leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’ After Season 40 Despite Rumors [VIDEOS]

It's been reported that longtime Saturday Night Live player Kenan Thompson is leaving the NBC series after season 40, according to TMZ. But Huffington Post claims that may not be 100% accurate.

Coined the "most tenured African American" in the show's history, the gossip site stated that Thompson was originally planning on leaving last year following season 39, but the program's creator Lorne Michaels asked that he stay on.

Following the report from TMZ, a spokesperson from SNL denied everything, writing that the story was "inaccurate." They added that "the season hasn't even started and cast decisions aren't made until the end of the season."

At the very least, looks like we're going to be delighted with more DeAndre Cole for one more year.

Of course, should the rumors be true, one might wonder why would Thompson be leaving. Well, other than the fact that he's been on the show since 2003, he did just have a baby not too long ago. Aside from that, TMZ says that the actor has a possible new show out in Los Angeles. Therefore, perhaps he'll make the trek out west with his wife and child looking for that Hollywood dream –– as if he hasn't achieved it yet, of course.

Tell us, should the player leave, which Kenan Thompson character will you miss the most: the aforementioned DeAndre Cole? Steve Harvey? Charles Barkley? Apparently there's quite a few to choose from, so let's take a gander at some of our favorite Kenan Thompson bits below:

Say what you will, but our vote still goes for What Up With That star DeAndre Cole!