If you’ve been on the Internet at all this week, you’ve probably heard about two things in pop culture. 1. Kelly Clarkson got into an incident over a bird named Molly and 2. Shane Gillis had people upset not about his live f-bomb, but because he referred to female gymgoers in neon shorts as “whores” during his viral and controversial SNL monologue. These are the things taking over the national discourse, much to “Weekend Update” host Michael Che’s chagrin.
He’s got his own selfish reasons for calling out Shane Gillis. Unlike Ego Nwodim’s snarky gym fit post or Dan Levy getting really fervent with his monologue feelings, Michael Che’s interest in Gillis’ commentary is purely one of self-interest. The man has a Netflix special out now, and he was set to embark on a press tour for it. Now, he knows all people are gonna care about are his thoughts on Shane’s thoughts.
In a three-post thread to his Instagram, Che got candid about doing press for Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota, which literally hit the 2026 TV schedule just days after Shane Gillis’ viral comments on October 13th. He joked he knows EXACTLY what types of questions he will be getting in the coming days, ending his post with an insincere, “Thanks a lot, Shane.”
He’s definitely got a funny perspective about the whole thing, but I bet this happens to celebrities all the time. They’re minding their own business, getting ready to promote a project they are (hopefully) genuinely excited about, and then, boom, something happens outside their control. That becomes the narrative people want to talk about instead of the actual project. Brutal.
I feel like we saw this recently in a very different context when poor George and Amal Clooney were out doing press and then just got asked about Presley Gerber's death over and over again. The couple are pals with Cindy Crawford and Randy Gerber, and when news broke they’d been supportive, that’s all people wanted to talk to them about. I don’t think that’s a type of personal torture we could probably really understand unless we’d been there, even though I feel like I kind of get it.
Che himself is known for very edgy jokes on “Weekend Update,” most specifically when he and his SNL desk partner do their famous “Joke Swap” segment. I’ve heard Che say some outlandish things, but in his case, the jokes usually land a little better, or at least a little more quietly, than this past weekend’s recent SNL host.
If you are interested in where Shane Gillis was trying to go with his controversial SNL monologue moment, I suggest you watch Tires Season 3, which does basically the same bit, but better. Those episodes are also, like Che’s special, available with a Netflix subscription.
