Provided by NBC
Comedian Shane Gillis has returned to host SNL after being fired from the cast in 2019 for making racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.
During the February 24 episode, Gillis did not shy away from the elephant in the room, briefly acknowledging firing the elephant in his opening monologue.
“I’m here,” he said. “Most of you don’t know who I am. Actually, I was fired from this show a while ago. But don’t look it up. If you don’t know who I am, Google Don’t search. It’s okay. Don’t worry about that either.
Gillis was fired from the show just a week after it was announced that he would be joining the SNL cast. A statement was released on behalf of longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels, saying the following about the situation: An impressive audition for “SNL.” We were unaware of his previous statements that surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We regret that we did not see these clips sooner and that the review process was not up to our standards. ”
Gillis also commented on his dismissal on social media, saying: I’m a comedian funny enough to get SNL. You can’t take that away. Of course, I wanted a chance to prove myself on SNL, but I understand that it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I am honestly grateful for this opportunity.I was always crazy TV [sic] Anyway, man. ”
Since being fired in 2019, Gillis has co-hosted the popular podcast “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” and landed a Netflix comedy special, “Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs,” to be released in 2023. .
Watch Gillis’ full opening monologue below.
