Shane Gillis Breaks Silence After Firing From Saturday Night Live for Bigotry

The short-lived Shane Gillis saga is finally coming to a close as Saturday Night Live and NBC have decided to part ways with the controversial comedian mere days after he was announced as a new cast member of the long-running sketch comedy show. Gillis came under fire after racist, misogynist, and homophobic comments came to light, comments that he made on his podcast with co-host Matt McCusker in which he used various slurs. NBC and SNL didn’t react right away, instead waiting until Monday to reveal that he was not going to join the show.

Now Gillis has issued his own statement about being fired from SNL before his tenure even began, though the tone is much in the same vein of his original statement and even makes an insulting joke at the expense of the show.

“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,” Gillis writes. “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.”

Gillis was chastised after his initial statement included coded phrases such as “I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended,” with many criticisms pointing out that his post was not exactly an apology. He seemingly defended his comedy, which was not conducted on the stage but instead was spoken between two friends in casual conversation on a podcast.

Following the resurfaced podcast clips in which Gillis said slurs denigrating Chinese people, another report came out that showed he also insulted female comedians and even called prominent comics like Chris Gethard and Judd Apatow homophobic slurs.

That report from Vulture also included a comment from the owner of the Good Good Comedy Theatre in Philadelphia, where Gillis used to perform before they severed ties with him due to his bigotry.

“Good Good Comedy Theatre stopped working with him within the past few years because of racist, homophobic, and sexist things he’s said on and offstage,” Banford said.

It’s unclear if Saturday Night Live will replace Gillis with another up-and-coming comedian. Gillis, however, can always go back to low-hanging fruit on his podcast and whatever comedy club willing to take a chance on supporting him.