Comedian Shane Gillis’ third time hosting Saturday Night Live is being characterized poorly by critics and, more broadly, the internet at large.
Things were so rough that the Mechanicsburg native apologized for a slip-up before the show was over. But viewers say he has a lot more to be sorry for.
During this weekend’s episode, which featured Gillis and musical guest Rosalía, Gillis said in his opening monologue that women dress like “whores” when they go to the gym.
“Look, I’m sorry there’s no other way to describe it,” he added. The monologue has been viewed over a million times on SNL’s YouTube channel as of publication time.
Viewers slammed his language, calling it misogynistic and tone deaf, especially in the weeks following news of the Cornell 7 sexual assault case, where a group of men are accused of a gang rape in 2024 at an Ivy League frat house. The case has led to women speaking out about their own experiences being objectified and abused.
“Shane Gillis knows that there’s a major national conversation happening right now about sexual assault,” said feminist author Jessica Valenti in an Instagram post with over 1 million views. “When you demean and denigrate and dehumanize women … What do you think rape culture is?”
Actor and fellow former SNL host Dan Levy also posted a reel criticizing Gillis’s monologue.
“I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television, and to be perfectly honest, more men need to be standing up in opposition to it because it’s complacency that has created the environment with which women are sexually assaulted, and it’s a ‘conversation’ as opposed to a crime,” he said.
Support for Levy’s stance against Gillis came quickly, including from celebrities like Jersey Shore’s Jenni “JWoww” Farley and Hacks star and Eagles enthusiast Hannah Einbinder.
It’s not Gillis’ first time catching heat.
In 2019, he was hired alongside Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman to join the cast of Saturday Night Live. But before he could make his show debut, his invitation was rescinded after video clips showing Gillis using a racial slur for Chinese people, mocking Asian accents, and using homophobic slurs surfaced.
Gillis has maintained the quotes from those videos were taken out of context and he would apologize to anyone offended by his remarks. He has gone on to have a successful comedy career, hosting SNL and starring in multiple specials and TV appearances.
In the Tires star’s most recent SNL appearance, he ended up apologizing for an issue completely separate from the opening monologue. During a Dr. Seuss-themed skit with Andrew Dismukes and Mikey Day, Gillis dropped an f-bomb. The flub happened too quickly to be bleeped on the live broadcast. It has since been censored in reposts of the skit online. Gillis said “sorry about earlier,” at the end of the skit and apologized again at the end of the show during his goodnights.
In July, Gillis celebrated a sold-out show at Lincoln Financial Field with special guest appearances by Dave Chappelle, Meek Mill, Three 6 Mafia, Jay Oakerson, Matt McCusker, Jason Kelce, Cooper DeJean, and Jordan Mailata.
As of publication time, neither Saturday Night Live nor Gillis have responded to criticism about the monologue.
