UPDATE: Saturday Night Live is officially cutting ties with Shane Gillis. An SNL spokesperson on behalf of Lorne Michaels said in a statement,
“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining ‘SNL,’ We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for SNL. We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”
Gillis posted his own statement on Twitter regarding NBC’s decision on Monday;
“It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are. I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can’t be taken away. Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a mad tv [sic] guy anyway.”
A clip from Gillis’s show, Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast was posted to Twitter by Seth Simons on Thursday. In it, when discussing NYC’s Chinatown, Gillis says,
“Let the fucking chinks live there.”
Both hosts also repeatedly make fun of Asian accents and make gross remarks about Chinese food.
“An Asian trying to learn English bothers me more than someone listening to, like Lil Uzi Vert while I’m trying to eat fuckin’ dinner.”
Gillis has also made homophobic jokes in the past and called Judd Apatow and Chris Gethard,
“white faggot comics”
For the record both Apatow and Gethard are straight, as if that matters. In other episodes, Gillis makes nasty remarks about women and Muslims.
Gillis posted a statement saying,
“I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss. I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said.”
W. Kamau Bell, host of United Shades of America, responded to Gillis’s statement,
“As a comic who also ‘pushes boundaries’ part of the deal [is] getting pushback. If you don’t want pushback then don’t ‘push boundaries’.
Also the boundaries of “jokes” on native Chinese [people] not speaking English well were already pushed by comics when TVs only came in black and white.”
Silicon Valley‘s Jimmy O. Yang wrote on Twitter,
“As a comedian, I usually side with the comedians on sensitive subjects. But this is just plain racist. [It’s] truly disgusting. This man has to go @nbcsnl.”
Ironically(?) new SNL staff writer Bowen Yang is gay and Chinese American and only the third cast member of Asian descent to ever join the show. (If you’re thinking, “Who was Asian on the show?’,Fred Armisen and Rob Schneider are of part Asian descent.)
“It took 45 years for @SNLto get an East Asian cast member and in that same year, he’ll be joined by someone who would have no problem calling him a ‘fuckin’ chink.’ Gotta be a joke in there somewhere.”
Simu Liu, the star of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, weighed in on Sunday,
“It wasn’t funny then, and it sure as hell isn’t funny today. This word has been used to dehumanize my people for over 150 years. You don’t get to use it in the name of edgy comedy Like the other members of my community, I am eagerly awaiting @nbcsnl’s response.”
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted on Saturday,
“Shane – I prefer comedy that makes people think and doesn’t take cheap shots. But I’m happy to sit down and talk with you if you’d like. For the record, I do not think he should lose his job. We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human.”
(Btw, Gillis referred to Yang as a “Jew chink” in an episode of Real Ass Podcast.)
The new season of SNL kicks off Sept. 28 with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Billie Eilish.
Wonder if Gillis will still be working there?
As a comedian I usually side with the comedians on sensitive subjects. But this is just plain racist. Its truly disgusting. Standing up against this is just as important as supporting our Asian brothers and sisters. This man has to go @nbcsnl https://t.co/oQS0BgqTbP
— Jimmy O. Yang (@FunnyAsianDude) September 13, 2019
As a comic who also “pushes boundaries” part of the deal getting pushback. If you don’t want pushback then don’t “push boundaries”.
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) September 13, 2019
Also the boundaries of “jokes” on native Chinese ppl not speaking English well were already pushed by comics when TV’s only came in black & white. https://t.co/DBMTB2yAPT
It took 45 years for @SNL to get an East Asian cast member and in that same year he’ll be joined by someone who would have no problem calling him a “fuckin’ chink.”
— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) September 13, 2019
Gotta be a joke in there somewhere. https://t.co/BB8C4lQU4X
It wasn’t funny then, and it sure as hell isn’t funny today.
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) September 15, 2019
This word has been used to dehumanize my people for over 150 years. You don’t get to use it in the name of edgy comedy.
Like the other members of my community I am eagerly awaiting @nbcsnl’s response. pic.twitter.com/oWAl7NuLKK
Shane – I prefer comedy that makes people think and doesn’t take cheap shots. But I’m happy to sit down and talk with you if you’d like. https://t.co/YxbzQ5WVLX
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) September 14, 2019
(Photo, screen grab; via Distractify, Variety)
