Cheri Oteri says she wasn't able to commit in time for the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary.
The 52-year-old actress explained why she missed the television special in an interview Monday on Watch What Happens Live. Speculation over Oteri's absence started while the special was airing, but the star told host Andy Cohen the reason was innocuous.
"Well, to be fair, I have to say that I wasn't originally able to go and then just like a couple of days ago I was able to pull it together," she revealed. The actress attended the taping and the after-party, but did not appear in any sketches.
Oteri confirmed the reason for her absence Tuesday on News Nation, telling host Tamron Hall, "Originally I wasn't going to be able to make it so I was just glad I got there [to watch] ... I wanted to so bad and I was able to do it, but it was kind of last minute."
"I just think it just keeps reinventing itself," she said of the long-running series. "[The episodes are] very topical, which makes it enduring and then the characters to me make it endearing ... The topicality is what makes it so interesting to watch every week."
Oteri portrayed Spartan cheerleader Arianna, Morning Latte co-host Cass Van Rye and other characters on SNL from 1995 to 2000. The actress went on to appear on television series Easy to Assemble, The New Normal and Hot in Cleveland.