Entertainment

New ‘SNL’ Writer Shane Gillis Under Fire For Alleged Anti-Gay Remarks, Racial Slurs

(Credit: Youtube Screenshot Comedy Central Stand-Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0pfZygi2t8)

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Comedian Shane Gillis came under fire Thursday over comments previously made in his comedy routines.

Gillis had just been named as a new writer for “Saturday Night Live,” when Variety published a piece highlighting comments made by the comedian as “racist,” “sexist” and “homophobic.”


Shortly after the announcement was made, a video resurfaced on social media of the comedian making jokes about asians. Variety claimed the video is from a podcast recording. The video of the recording has since been deleted from Youtube.

Gillis pushed back against the criticism on Twitter calling his jokes a “miss.”

“I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries,” Gillis wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “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 said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.” (RELATED: Dave Chappelle Faces Backlash From Many On The Left For His Latest Comedy Sketch)

Despite the apology, some are calling for Gillis to be dismissed from “SNL.”

“I agree with @thealexwoo. @nbcsnl should reconsider their decision to cast Shane Gillis,” actress Hira Ambrosino tweeted.


“I started covering SNL professionally in 2010 and I’ve had a strict rule I NEVER comment publicly about cast members’ future employment status because it didn’t seem fair,” Uproxx entertainment writer, Mike Ryan, tweeted. “But Shane Gillis is now the exception. Completely unacceptable and he needs to be dismissed immediately.”