Shane Gillis to Host Saturday Night Live After Controversial Firing

Comedian Shane Gillis is set to make a comeback on Saturday Night Live (SNL) after being fired from the show five years ago. Gillis will host the February 24th episode, with musical guest 21 Savage.

The Controversial Firing

In 2019, Gillis was announced as a cast member for SNL’s Season 45. However, before appearing in a single episode, he was fired due to a racial slur he used in a since-deleted 2018 video posted on the YouTube channel, Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.

A spokesperson for the show stated, “After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL. We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL.”

The statement continued, “The language he used is offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”

Gillis’ Response and Career Since

Gillis responded to the controversy by stating, “I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries. 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.”

Since his firing from SNL, Gillis has continued his career as a stand-up comedian, gaining popularity through his live performances across the US. He released his second comedy special, Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs, on Netflix in September 2023. His first special, Shane Gillis: Live in Austin, was released on YouTube in 2021.