Shane Gillis has been under fire recently for comments he made during his SNL monologue. The comedian, who has hosted multiple episodes of the NBC mainstay despite his complicated history with the show, told a joke about the way women dress when they go to the gym. It used a word to describe women that many took umbrage at. Now, the comic is opening up about how he felt in the aftermath of the controversy, and how he actually feels about the topic.
For context, during the October 10th episode of SNL, Gillis joked about returning to the gym after a long absence. The comedian noted that he didn't realize women were wearing such provocative outfits to the fitness center, and even called them “whores.” People were so upset, they forgot he also dropped an F-Bomb that night. The word he used drew a lot of online criticism, which was something Gillis seemed surprised by, considering he didn’t think his monologue was controversial. During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, he said he told SNL the following about his monologue:
Fellas, I'm giving you a solid C-minus of a monologue, but I promise there's no controversy.
He confirmed that SNL never screened his monologue and trusted Gillis’s judgment. He also followed up, saying that he personally didn’t have an actual problem with the way women dress at the gym, saying:
For the record, [I] don’t have a problem with it.
Rogan questioned whether or not the clothing was appropriate and sexualized, and Gillis noted that many men are doing the same thing. However, he was admittedly upset about the online reaction and said it had an impact on his mental health. Gillis said he deleted social media as a result, as the situation spiked his cortisol levels, and he didn’t have a desire to hear what else people were saying about him.
He clearly is feeling some sort of way about the intensity of the backlash, especially when it came to other comics coming out against him -- even Michael Che joked he was sick of talking about it. However, Gillis seems to understand why the joke got so much heat. The timing of this certainly did not work in his favor, especially considering it happened while many news stories had recently broken about sexual impropriety towards women. Upon reflection, he seemed to see how the context was a big problem. He said:
I think it obviously had a lot to do with the climate.
While he wasn’t apologetic about it, he seems to understand where the anger came from. Whether his explanation changes anyone's opinion of the monologue remains to be seen.
You can revisit Shane Gillis’s SNL episode, as well as other episodes, now with a Peacock subscription. You can also check out upcoming episodes on Saturdays at 11:30 on NBC. SNL has a lot of exciting hosts and musical guests coming up for season 52, so make sure to check it out.
