Redd was part of the “Saturday Night Live” cast from 2017 to 2022, while Thompson joined the show in 2003 and is still on it.

SNL alum Chris Redd addresses rumors that Kenan Thompson was behind his 2022 attack

Redd was part of the "Saturday Night Live" cast from 2017 to 2022, while Thompson joined the show in 2003 and is still on it.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

EW's editorial guidelines

January 15, 2026 7:41 p.m. ET

Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd at the 2018 Creative Arts Emmys. Credit:

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Former *Saturday Night Live* cast member Chris Redd does not support the rumor that Kenan Thompson had something to do with that assault on him in New York.

"Kenan did not hit me," Redd told a TMZ camera Wednesday. "People took it like Kenan hit me. He didn't hit me."

But does he think Thompson orchestrated the assault?

“Listen, man, I found out who did it," Redd said. "It is what it is. That's it."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Redd was attacked on Oct. 26, 2022, while on his way to perform at the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village.

In their report, the New York Police Department explained that Redd had arrived at the venue about 9:40 p.m. ET. After exiting his vehicle, an unknown male assailant punched him in the nose, which left him bleeding, before running away.

Redd was examined and treated for minor injuries at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.

Redd worked with Thompson when he was on the sketch comedy series from 2017 to 2022. Thompson, who joined the Emmy-winning series in 2003, is famously the longest-serving cast member. The two also played brothers on the sitcom *Kenan* for two seasons, from 2021 to 2022.**

Kenan Thompson reveals 'SNL' costar who sought him out as a mentor: 'He came knocking'

Kenan Thompson opens up about doing 'SNL' with Trump while hiding a broken elbow

Earlier this month, Redd spoke out about another, unexpected connection with the *Kenan & Kel *alum: him dating Thompson's ex-wife, Christina Evangeline.

Thompson filed for divorce from Evangeline, his wife of more than a decade, in June 2022, after having been separated for more than a year. The couple are the parents of daughters Georgia, 11, and Gianna, 7.**

"Bottom line is, while I was at [*SNL*], I had some pills issues. I got some pill problems, nothing too crazy, but crazy for my Black a--, you know?" Redd said in a video. "I was even selling some to the people, to some of my castmates."**

Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd on 'Saturday Night Live'.

Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

While he said his colleagues were aware of what was going on with him, Evangeline was the only one who reached out to help with what he was going through.**

"It's crazy how somebody will watch you destroy yourself," Redd said, before referring to Evangeline as "the only one to call me on my s---, help me with my s---, she helped me with my therapy journey, and she told me things about her life that made me look at a lot of people involved in it differently.”

It was then that "we fell in love," Redd said. "And I felt bad from the start. It's always felt like an emotional double-edged sword for me, because I really love everything me and Kenan did, bro. I really appreciated every piece of work we put together, I think that we were a great team, and I hate doing something to somebody that I know would hurt them."**

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW SNL”