David Spade tells critics to ‘relax’ as Shane Gillis faces backlash over ‘SNL’ joke

David Spade thinks people have gotten a little too comfortable being offended.

Spade defended comedians' right to push boundaries, even when their material doesn't land during an episode of his podcast, "Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade."

Comedian Shane Gillis sparked backlash after he mocked women at the gym during his "Saturday Night Live" monologue.

"I haven’t been to the gym in so long. I didn’t know women just dress like whores now?" Gillis said. "Look, I'm sorry, there's no other way to describe … Have you seen the shorts? Those neon, they're like, artificial bait-colored [shorts], and the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole. And don’t look! You’re not allowed to look."

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David Spade pushed back against outrage culture, suggesting that people have become too quick to take offense over controversial jokes. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

Carvey wasn't buying the outrage surrounding Gillis' joke. Rather than viewing the remarks as an attack on women, the comedian argued that the backlash overlooked a fundamental part of stand-up comedy: saying things that aren't meant to be taken literally.

"I just didn't understand the kerfuffle," Carvey said. "Only 'cause to me, I just saw it as what we call – I'll just say it – a joke. Like he didn't – when you say jokes, you're not literally saying women are whores. You are literally joking. Isn't that kind of the idea? No? Did I just get canceled?"

Spade's assistant and executive producer of the podcast, Heather Santoro, chimed in with a different take, arguing that offensive humor still needs to deliver laughs.

"The joke has to be actually funny," Santoro could be heard saying off mic. "If you're gonna like call a woman a whore, it's gotta be funny. And it wasn't."

Carvey argued that in comedy clubs, he'd bet the joke "destroyed," but "Saturday Night Live" simply was "not the right place" for it.

During an episode of his "Fly on the Wall" podcast, Spade and co-host Dana Carvey discussed backlash over Shane Gillis' "Saturday Night Live" monologue, in which he compared women's revealing gym attire to how "whores" dress. (Randy Holmes via Getty Images)

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"He got some laughs, but, of course, I think he knows that one's gonna be a button pusher," Spade noted. "But he doesn't care."

"Young, very highly dressed-up young women is the majority of the audience at 'SNL,'" Carvey conceded. "So, All right, Heather, I agree with you."

Spade also called out what he viewed as Hollywood's double standards, questioning why some people face criticism while others are seemingly off-limits – and suggesting that not every joke or celebrity controversy needs to spark outrage.

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While Dana Carvey defended Shane Gillis' joke as an attempt at humor, David Spade's assistant, Heather Santoro, argued that offensive material still needs to be funny. (Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)

"I will say it's almost comical that there's people that say, 'Oh, don't make fun of OnlyFans. Don't make fun of strippers. These are sex workers. They need to be respected.' And then everyone hates Sydney Sweeney," Spade said. "And it's like, 'Which one is it?' Like, you know what I mean? Let's all decide what we hate and don't and how about we just relax."

"Sometimes people just need to mind their biz," Spade said. "Like, we don't need to comment on everything."

"We do," he joked, speaking about himself and Carvey, "because everyone loves that we do."

Carvey suggested that audiences have increasingly blurred the line between finding a joke unfunny and believing it shouldn't be told at all.

"It's the idea of like – there's two things. Joke is funny – eh. Joke is not funny, joke offends me – joke should not be allowed to be said," Carvey explained.

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David Spade also called out what he viewed as Hollywood's double standards and questioned why some jokes spark outrage while others get a pass, urging people to stop weighing in on everything and simply "mind their biz." (Phillip Faraone/VF25/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Spade, who appeared on "SNL" from 1990 until 1996, explained that the show's comedians often face a different level of scrutiny when a controversial joke falls flat.

"I think at ‘SNL,’ If something kills, it gets a pass. If something totally bombs, then they get a lot of trouble," he noted.

"Well, did it kill it at dress [rehearsal]?" Carver questioned.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't think Shane has talked about it," Spade added. "I think he's that kind of Chappelle where he just does it, and he walks away and then everyone fights over it."