Shane Gillis recently appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to discuss the backlash surrounding his controversial monologue on Saturday Night Live last month. The comedian faced criticism for a remark made during his performance, where he referred to women wearing workout clothes at the gym as “dressing like whores.”
Reflecting on the incident with Rogan, Gillis clarified that SNL does not pre-approve monologues before they air. “Not to defend SNL, they don’t approve it. I mean, they could shut it down,” he stated on The Joe Rogan Experience. “They could, but you don’t write your set and give it to them. Unless you’re not a comedian. I’m sure non-comics, they write the set for them.” This comment acknowledges that many non-comedians typically have their material crafted by the show’s writing staff, unlike Gillis, who insists on writing his own material.
Despite contacting Gillis about potential concerns with his monologue, he assured the show’s producers that there would be no issues. “The funniest part was, they were like, ‘What’s going on with the monologue?’ And I was like, ‘It’s not great but I don’t say anything bad,’” he remarked. He described the performance as a “solid C minus of a monologue,” emphasizing that his self-deprecating humor, where he joked about being overweight, was the crux of his performance.
Gillis, who was infamously fired from SNL in 2019 due to past racist and homophobic remarks, has been invited back to host the show three times since his dismissal. His recent return was not without controversy; he drew ire from viewers after dropping an F-bomb during a sketch titled “Green Eggs and Ham,” which had a Dr. Seuss theme.
Following Gillis’ monologue, a number of celebrities voiced their criticism, labeling him as a misogynist. Among them, singer Maren Morris shared a video on Instagram flipping the middle finger, accompanying it with the text “me being a wh0re at the gym” and featuring her song “Be a Bitch.” The song’s chorus highlights themes of defiance and the struggle against being overly nice: “Breaking my neck from turning my cheek/ Killing with kindness only killed me/ If the truth means I’m a little too mean/ Tried to fake nice, but it didn’t quite stick/ I’d rather be a bitch.”
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In a show of solidarity, former SNL star Ego Nwodim posted a gym selfie on her Instagram Stories with the caption, “whore reporting for duty,” while Dan Levy shared an Instagram video expressing his astonishment, stating he was “speechless that something like that can exist on live national television.”
