Back in 2019, Shane Gillis was announced as a new cast member on Saturday Night Live, but was fired before ever actually making an appearance on the show.
After a video clip from Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast which Shane cohosts went viral, the comedian came under fire for using racist slurs and mocking Chinese accents.
Following the controversy, Shane tweeted: “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. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”
Two years later Shane appeared as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he discussed the situation and his experience on SNL.
Why was Shane Gillis fired from SNL?
After Shane was announced as a new cast member on SNL, a video clip from the podcast he cohosted went viral online. The clip featured Shane using racist slurs and mocking Chinese accents.
At the time, a 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 … 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.”
Following the announcement, Shane addressed the situation on Twitter, where he explained that it felt “ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements.”
He said: “I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get on SNL. That can’t be taken away. Of course, I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL but it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I am honestly grateful for the opportunity.”
Shane Gillis discusses SNL
On the Joe Rogan podcast, Shane Gillis spoke about his experience on SNL, and said facing that amount of backlash was crazy.
He told Joe that in a situation like that “there’s not many people you can actually talk to about it.”
Shane said: “It was kind of surreal, I was one of the first people to be cancelled.”
After being selected to be on SNL, Shane claimed that he was asked if there was anything he wanted them to “check out” with regards to his social media presence. He said:
“They have people that vet you, but they’re not used to people having podcasts. They go through your Facebook, your Instagram, your Twitter.”
In other news, So Miley Cyrus posed pantless on her dad’s truck – my dad would ERUPT!