Shane Gillis Returns to the Stage for First Stand-Up Set Since Saturday Night Live Firing
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Shane Gillis made his first public appearance on Wednesday night after his firing from the NBC sketch comedy series.
The comedian — who was fired on Monday after an online video resurfaced depicting him making a racial slur — performed a stand-up set at the Stand comedy club in New York City, according to Variety. His 11-minute set reportedly touched on the recent controversy.
“Everybody’s been like, you can’t say s— and not expect consequences,” he reportedly said on stage, while wearing a “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” hoodie, which is the name of the YouTube channel from which the video was found.
“I’m fine with the consequences. I’m not arguing. F— it,” he added, according to Variety. “But I do want everyone to know that I’ve been reading every one of my death threats in an Asian accent.”
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Last week, just hours after SNL announced that Gillis would be joining the show, the controversial clip from September 2018 began to circulate online.
“Chinatown’s f—— nuts,” Gillis said to Matt McCusker in the clip. “Let the f—— ch— live there,” he adds.
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Gillis then continued to spew out insults when talking about eating at Chinese restaurants.
“The translation between you and the waiter is such a f—— hassle, I’m pointing at it,” he said in the clip. Gillis even mimicked Chinese accents.
The clip prompted SNL to part ways with the comedian, announcing their decision on Monday.
“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL,” an SNL spokesperson said in a statement on behalf of show creator Lorne Michaels.
“We want SNLto 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,” the statement continued.
“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,” the statement reads. “We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”
After SNL announced that Gillis was no longer a part of the cast, he released a statement of his own on Twitter, saying he respected the show’s decision.
— Shane Gillis (@Shanemgillis) September 16, 2019
“It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are. I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can’t be taken away,” he said. “Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a mad tv guy anyway.”
Prior to being fired, Gillis responded to the outrage over the video on Twitter.
— Shane Gillis (@Shanemgillis) September 13, 2019
“I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries,” he wrote on Sept. 12. “I sometimes miss. If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses. 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.”
Gillis opened up about having to deal with the backlash on social media during his Wednesday night stand-up performance, Variety reported.
“It’s been weird. Twitter has been f—— nuts. You try to stay off it when the whole f—— country hates you,” Gillis told the crowd. “That’s not a fun feeling as a human. Especially when you never get to say your side at all.”
Season 45 of SNL premieres on Sept. 28 at 11 p.m. ET on NBC.
