Shane Gillis Addresses Backlash to His 'Saturday Night Live' Monologue

Comedian Shane Gillis has addressed the backlash to his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, nearly a month after the show's Oct. 10 episode, which he hosted. The monologue drew criticism after Gillis accused women of "dressing like whores" at the gym. He spoke about the reaction on The Joe Rogan Experience.

What Gillis said about the monologue

Gillis said the NBC sketch comedy show did not approve his material beforehand. "They could shut it down," he said, but added that a working comedian does not normally hand over a set for approval. He said the show's writers wrote monologues for non-comedians, not for him.

Gillis also described the production side of the episode. He said producers asked what was going on with the monologue, and he told them it was not great but contained nothing offensive. He said he had joked to them that he was giving them a "solid C minus" monologue and promised there would be no controversy. He said the bit mainly involved him calling himself fat.

Gillis said the backlash "obviously had a lot to do with the climate." On the clothing itself, he said he did not have a problem with it.

Criticism and support from fellow performers

Several comedians and actors criticised the monologue. Dan Levy, former SNL cast member Ego Nwodim and Obsession star Inde Navarrette were among those who objected. Navarrette made a reference to the joke during her own opening monologue on the show's Halloween episode. Kathy Griffin and Ania Magliano of SNL UK also voiced criticism, according to reports.

Other performers publicly backed Gillis. Dana Carvey, David Spade and Jimmy Carr expressed their support, according to reports.

Gillis's history with the show

Gillis was announced as a new cast member in 2019 but was removed before his first episode after past podcast comments and videos resurfaced. Those videos showed him mocking Asian accents and using ethnic and gay slurs. He has since hosted the show in 2024 and 2025, and the October episode was his latest hosting appearance.

Gillis said the 2019 situation was harder to handle because he kept social media open then. This time, he said, he deleted his social media accounts immediately, so he does not know what people are saying about the monologue.

What we know so far

Gillis has publicly explained that he did not expect the monologue to cause controversy, and he has made no formal apology in the comments reported so far. NBC has not been reported as making any statement on the matter in the reports available. Gillis joked that he was considering removing critical comedians from his tour dates, but said he was not going to do so.

Coverage of the remarks has been split, with some commentators calling the monologue unfunny and offensive and others defending Gillis's right to provoke. The reports do not show any further action by the show or the comedian.

Gillis made the remarks on the Joe Rogan Experience, a Friday episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter.