Racist homophobe Shane Gillis got fired from SNL before his first day, lol

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Last week, Saturday Night Live announced several new cast members, and one of them was Shane Gillis, a Philadelphia comic who is well known in that city’s comedy clubs. And when I say “well known,” I mean that even before his SNL hiring, he was already banned from one club for the offensive sh-t he said on and off stage. Within 24 hours after his hiring was announced, internet detectives found a mountain of questionable, offensive and blatantly racist sh-t that Gillis had said on his podcast. He tried to clean it up (by deleting the pods from YouTube), but of course people had already grabbed the worst soundbytes. Gillis then decided to give a fake non-apology wherein he claimed that he was just being a comedian and basically, you suck if you’re offended. Well, guess what?

“Saturday Night Live” is officially cutting ties with Shane Gillis.

“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining ‘SNL,’” an “SNL” spokesperson on behalf of Lorne Michaels said in a statement. “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.”

[From Variety]

Yes, I had questions about SNL’s vetting process, because it seems to be pretty half-assed. I mean, Gillis’s racist, homophobic and sexist comments weren’t hiding in some long-lost blog post from a decade ago. Gillis repeatedly made demeaning and offensive comments on his podcast ALL THE TIME. It was happening currently. Did no one check that out?

Gillis issued another statement and beware the fragile ego of a white man who was just called out on his bulls–t. That’s all I have to say.

Blah. I’m just glad we don’t have to talk about this d-bag anymore. I’m sure there will be some people arguing some sh-t about “PC culture” or “cancel culture” or whatever right-wing talking point is being filtered right now. It seems pretty cut and dry though: Shane Gillis is an offensive human being and he’s a work hazard. If SNL had “given him a chance” and let him work on SNL for a time, they would be opening themselves up to a lot of lawsuits.

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78 Responses to “Racist homophobe Shane Gillis got fired from SNL before his first day, lol”

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  1. Alexandria says:

    This is the least that should happen because he is not even sorry after SNL dropped him.

    • (TheOG)@Jan90067 says:

      This still stinks like 3 day old fish that wasn’t refrigerated. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that this was all PR (albeit badly done). SNL and this racist POS BOTH are being talked about (surely raising HIS profile (nationally) by leaps and bounds, and tired ol’ SNL gets though of as “edgy”. FEH. Glad he’s gone. But I can’t imagine SNL’s auditions/vetting practices, esp. by their legal dept. Is SO lax, that he’d get through to air.

      • Betsy says:

        I do t think anyone find casual racism to be edgy. I just think that in some ways Time has left Lorne Michaels a little bit behind.

        I can’t hate on Michaels now. He fired the tool, and he’s made famous so many funny people over the years. I don’t stay up that late anymore, but I love watching the faux commercials and pre-recorded bits (shoot me; I don’t think live stuff is usually ever funny).

    • Elizabeth Olesh says:

      No, it’s called comedy.I am going to say something about cancel culture- because you are all insufferable. It’s a persona and if you listened to it before you rushed to clutch your pearls you would know that. He’s a funny guy.

      • OriginalLala says:

        racism isn’t funny. If he needs to rely on tired old racist stereotypes for his act, he isn’t a very good comedian.

      • Jten says:

        He’s not funny. His ‘persona’ is dated, ignorant and unfunny. He’s too dumb and arrogant to apologise properly. Can’t have any respect for someone who can’t release a statement without “if anyone was offended” when people are clearly offended.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Calling “all” people insufferable is trollish behavior. The move of someone desperate for attention, much like Gillis. So needy.

      • carol says:

        Yeah, but he’s not funny. Let’s just say you don’t find his humor offensive, he is still NOT FUNNY. Why SNL hired him is a mystery to me.

      • Tanya says:

        If calling someone by those words were funny, then 90% of my middle school class would be rich and famous. SNL can do better than this.

      • Adrien says:

        Elizabeth, he got banned in a comedy strip because he said racist and homophobic remarks offstage.

      • Moe says:

        Racism is the absolutely laziest and lowest type of humour. Next to jokes about pu##y and d##k. BORING

    • Moe says:

      I’m honestly surprised in this climate snl didn’t do their homework. They can produce some furiously subversive stuff at times. Disappointed in them.

  2. Millennial says:

    I actually think they probably did vet him and did know about his remarks but assumed it would be fine and no one would care as much as they did. This whole but about vetting “wasn’t up to our standards” is all CYA.

    But I’m a cynic today.

    • Joanna says:

      Agree!

    • hindulovegod says:

      I think it’s a lot simpler. Lorne Michaels has a dictatorial leadership style and bad taste. He doesn’t like to be questioned, so he isn’t. And the staff who knew the problems with Shane had no space to speak up. Lorne’s history of bias and narrow-mindedness is long and storied. Fish rots from the head.

      • stormsmama says:

        +1000

        the cult of lorne needs to be reminded it is the year 2019
        not 2009…1999, 1989, 1979!

        there’s no excuse for this AT ALL
        this is just lazy at best
        or a rotting fish head at worst (as @hindulovegod said)

        Lorne himself needs to release a statement saying SNL is ready to lead rather than drag its feet.

    • Deedee says:

      Thought the same thing.

    • tealily says:

      Yeah, this.

    • Savannah says:

      @MILLENIAL

      I agree with you.
      This is the “old system” of knowing but thinking they can get away with sh*t, just that they’re not getting away with sh*t anymore.
      We’re going to see more of this cause people like Lorne really believe they still can get away with anything and lives in a bubble of male privilege, a positions of power and old ways of giving horrible people the limelight.

  3. DaisySharp says:

    Yay! Good news.

  4. Erinn says:

    I’m starting to wonder if companies are hiring people they KNOW are controversial just to ‘save the day’ and replace them later. They get to appear like they’re giving the guys who’ve been around for a while a shot, but then letting them take the fall and playing ethics hero later.

    It’s just to the point where the vetting is SO poorly done that I’d prefer to think they’re doing this on purpose instead of being so wholly incompetent.

    • boredblond says:

      Seems exactly like trump vetting–hire anyone with no checking, then when they’re outed as a-holes, say you’ve changed your mind.

    • ME says:

      I also believe it’s all done on purpose. Any simple google search would have shown how racist this guy is. SNL hasn’t gotten this type of coverage in a while…it was a way to get us talking about the show again.

    • Cindy says:

      I feel the same way tbh. You won’t make any headlines for not hiring a racist, but you will for firing one after they get called out.

    • lucy2 says:

      I tend to agree in this situation. Because the internet was able to find his offensive stuff in about 2 seconds, so either they were too lazy to actually look into the guy, or did it all on purpose.

  5. grabbyhands says:

    Real headline-

    SNL knowingly hires racist comic in order to stoke controversy and attention for upcoming season and then fires him in order to look like the good guy and also distract people from the fact that it took them this long to hire an Asian performer.

    This was 100% a set up by Lorne Michaels and I’m sure Shane Gillis is crying on the stack of money he was paid to walk away. He is probably courting a pile of offers from MAGA types everywhere to whine about how the liberal PC police tried to ruin his life.

    • notpretentious says:

      Yes, this exactly grabbyhands (love that name)!

    • OriginalLala says:

      yep, that’s what I thought as well

    • Mango says:

      Agree, 100%

    • M. says:

      I agree with you 100%. I find it hard to believe that no one at SNL didn’t know about Shane’s past. Outrage and controversy are both very profitable in this social media era, and Shane is about to become very rich.

      • CommentingBunny says:

        M – I agree with everything you said except for referring to “Shane’s past.” His racism is very much present.

    • Esmom says:

      Wow, this is a cynical take but now that I think about it, it makes sense. It makes my blood boil to think he might actually be walking away with a decent chunk of money.

      And he’ll have no trouble finding an audience, I’m sure the deplorables have already embraced him with open arms.

    • Original Jenns says:

      Not only crying into the stack of money he received, but I’m sure he’ll have plenty of bookings from people who think minorities just can’t take a joke, and he’s edgy and Merica. This heightens his profile and gives him a bigger audience, for which I will not forgive SNL. The MAGAs will support him now.

    • tealily says:

      Hey guess what… I continue not to watch it!

  6. BlueSky says:

    I’m really surprised they fired him. I doubt he would have made it through the whole season. Being on that show requires collaboration and cooperation, and he doesn’t seem like a team player. I didn’t even bother to read his statement because I already assumed it would be some white fragile male BS. In a months time, he will be forgotten.

    OAN he has a very punchable face.

  7. Shell says:

    Their vetting process is garbage, this quick turn around makes them look foolish for hiring him in the first place. Genuine question, how would they be opening up to a lot of lawsuits?

  8. minx says:

    Why did they hire him in the first place? He’s not even funny or talented.

  9. MeghanNotMarkle says:

    Good.

  10. Ai says:

    Asian that grew up and lived more than 2 decades in the US here and just sharing my two cents. I stopped watching SNL a while back but still some clips if it is good or when a musician I like is on the show. If they would have kept this fragile racist guy hiding behind ‘comedian’ then I would have never watch SNL again. Casual racism against Asian is very big in Hollywood – we are basically stereotypes and I can’t at the other comedians or any person trying to defend this guy with the ‘oh cancel or PC culture sucks and we can’t be funny anymore because these groups are too sensitive’. Boo hoo – sorry not sorry for calling him out for his racist remarks (they weren’t jokes and if you have to degrade and humiliate Asians to make comedy – it doesn’t make him edgy or an artist) he used derogatory terms (he thinks he can say Ch*nk and not face consequences?!?) and offensive remarks about Chinatown, Asian women (basically sexual fetishes) and mocked Asians with an accent (f’ him and I would like to know how many Asian languages he can speak to the extent that Asians have learned English.) Lastly, his non apologies and statements makes it clear that he hasn’t learned anything or shown that he understood his mistake.

    • stormsmama says:

      @Ai thank you for your comment! I heard them talking about him on npr and was appalled when i heard the clip from the podcast in which he talks about the accent of asian people talking english when they are learning english. He was like “its the worst when I’m in a restaurant and i hear someone trying to speak english and they have that chinese accent” WTF?????????? NPR did not play the slurs but the commentator mentioned them and spoke about how this was not jokes – he was just riffing his real thoughts on a podcast- and its just straight racism – casual racism- and its not ok!!!!! And this JACKASS is still SMUG GLOATING MAD like everything said is under the guise of comedy just bc he’s a professional comedian and therefore its ok!
      I completely 100% agree with you that this can not be acceptable on any level at all!!

    • Alarmjaguar says:

      Amen to all of that!

    • Dee Kay says:

      This comment was gold especially this: “mocked Asians with an accent (f’ him and I would like to know how many Asian languages he can speak to the extent that Asians have learned English.)” EXACTLY!! Anytime some non-Asian American makes fun of Asian accents, I’m like, Go ahead then show how well you speak any other language fluently, with no “accent” at all. Have some respect for people who are learning a whole new language and culture and trying to make a life here because their life back home sucked — oh just like your European ancestors did 150 years ago!!! (and I’m sure they had *no* Russian or Lithuanian or Southern Italian accents when they arrived here, either lol).

      • Ai says:

        I have faced many of these remarks about my accent throughout childhood while enrolled in “English as a second language class”. For me – I was young enough that over time, I can pick up the perfect American English. (It is now that I speak English as my native language and only proficient in my native language). Some learners who are older can never lose the accent though. It is NOT on them. Jokes about it mock our true efforts to learn English and assimilate into the US. But yet we get mocked anyway for even trying. Deep down these casual racism remarks highlight their own insecurities – they aren’t multilingual.

    • Adrien says:

      I am still trying to process that Japanese The Office (Ricky Gervais hosted) where the cast members played Japanese. The end of the sketch Ricky said ” it’s funny because it’s racist.” Talk about hiding racism in comedy.

  11. Meg says:

    FirstLatina cast member named Melissa removed 2,000 racist tweets after she got hired, somehow she’s still on the show after that. The screen grabs I’ve seen are offensive but don’t use blatant prejudice terms like Shane did so maybe that’s why their wasn’t enough of an outcry to fire her?

  12. ToisFilles says:

    That tweet’s got some sour-grape’n at the end there. He probably thought it was an edgy mic drop when he typed it.

    • Kate says:

      lol ikr? surprised he didn’t call snl a lesbian for rejecting him

    • otaku fairy.... says:

      Yep. Notice how he says it feels ridiculous for a comedian to have to make a serious statement. As if his position as a Funny Guy is supposed to be a lifelong pass to not take problems that effect other people and his role in them seriously. It seems like a demographic or two has come to expect that, or has gotten used to being implicitly or explicitly told that through certain sexist, racist, or homophobic tone-policing directed at other groups on the regular.

  13. Valerie says:

    I hate to be cynical, but it’s Lorne Michaels and SNL. I think they knew going in.

  14. sassbr says:

    The word on the street is that Michael Che vouched for this guy and was with him on ome of these podcasts. The r/LivefromNewYork reddit sub is on fire right now between this guy’s fans coming out to play and a great deal of fans who were threatening to boycott if the guy wasn’t fired. The Gillis fans-white boy morons-keep holding up Melissa Villasenor as an example-why wasn’t she fired, etc. because she came aboard after deleting shock humor tweets a few years back.

    • ME says:

      I haven’t heard anything about Melissa but I haven’t bothered to google about it. If that is the case, the same rules should have applied to her. Just because she’s Latina doesn’t give her a free pass to make racist jokes about ANYONE. Why do comedians feel the need to stoop so low for a laugh?

      • sassbr says:

        I don’t think they’re the same level-Gillis never bothered to hide the racism because that’s essentially his brand and she deleted nearly entire twitter history because it was filled with junk tweets and a handful of them, were making fun of Mexicans (she is specifically Mexican) and two were were about black people but contained no slurs. She does not get a pass but being that a handful of 5 year old tweets prior to hire were deleted is not the same as hours of very recent podcast recordings of racial slurs.

  15. JanetFerber says:

    Hell, yes. A rare win in the battle against racists, homophobes, misogynists, etc.

  16. Thea says:

    People keep complaining about cancel culture, but it’s just consequences.

    Also, I can’t believe they hired him when the head writer, Colin Jost, is engaged to Hollywood’s premier leading Asian actress.

  17. Pixie says:

    Wow. Love to see it.

  18. Fluffy Princess says:

    I heard on the way to work, the radio morning show playing clips from comedians complaining about it. “Well John Belushi used to dress up like a samurai and swung a sword around!!!!” Why doesn’t anyone remember that????” Waaaaaaah.

    Also, WHERE is the line for comedians? Louis CK = Oh poor Louis, it’s not like he actually did anything. . .ETC. Like is it just because your a comedian you should get to say ANYTHING and there should be no consequences because—it’s a joke…even if it’s bad? WHERE is the line? Is there even a line?

    • tealily says:

      Uh… Louie CK did more than say something.

      • Fluffy Princess says:

        I know, but so many male comedians don’t see that AT ALL. Like “big deal so he whipped out his d***” It’s so frustrating!

    • Tiffany :) says:

      John Belushi was on SNL 40 years ago. FFS, I’d hope the standards of any company would not be the same as they were 40 years ago.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      I heard people mention John Belushi too, which is bizarre — as if something that happened over 40 years ago justifies allowing racism today. I mean, if a city was segregated 60 years ago, does that mean it’s ok to do it today? What’s the excuse, “Bu- bu- but Mobile had segregated housing in 1963, so it should be ok if I do it today”?

    • Ally says:

      Yeah, and Belushi was a jerk who actively sabotaged the women who worked on the show, so they could have gone ahead and fired him 40 years ago, too. What a loss it would have been not to have the samurai sketch /eyeroll.

  19. Aimee says:

    I love how he had to take a swipe at the end. A real Class Act.

  20. SweetDee says:

    I’m from Philly and I’ve seen Shane at Helium comedy club a handful of times, he’s a frequent opener. I always found him to be pretty funny, a little offensive, but he definitely didn’t tell “jokes” like this and I never looked into him any further. I was pretty shocked when I saw the clips from his podcast. I also find it hard to believe SNL wasn’t aware of this when they hired him though

  21. kerwood says:

    He’ll be fine. He’ll headline NRA and FOX functions.

    • Ally says:

      Exactly. He’s gonna hit the aggrieved white guy circuit and open for Trump at rallies. Then he’ll end up hawking energy pills on his podcast, Ben Shapiro- and Alex Jones-style.

  22. Savannah says:

    I just YAY-ed reading this head line!
    (Not that I believe Lorne Michaels sacking him shows he gets it either).

    Shane is an immature ogre. He hasn’t learned anything and will go on being the piece of trash that he is.
    He’s taking himself waaaay to seriously.

    BYEEEE!

  23. Le4Frimaire says:

    Weird sidebar in this whole thing was Presidential candidate Andrew Yang defending him and trying to redeem this awful man. I like a lot of Yangs ideas but this seriously gives me pause and makes me think he’s really clueless about how people like Gillis really think and operate. Maybe this was one for the tech bros.

  24. Adrien says:

    Andrew Yang appeals to the frat boys and Silicon Valley types. He is trying to lure the Bernice Bros to his camp.

  25. Yes Doubtful says:

    The arrogance this guy has. Whoever vets for SNL needs to be fired too. This should have never happened!