Shane Gillis Addresses ‘SNL’ Monologue Backlash, Says He Promised the Show There Would Be “No Controversy”

Shane Gillis is finally addressing his controversial Saturday Night Live monologue.

During the Oct. 10 episode of the NBC sketch comedy series, Gillis, who hosted the show, accused women of “dressing like whores” at the gym during his opening monologue. The joke drew backlash from audiences and fellow comedians.

On a Friday episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Gillis explained that SNL didn’t give him feedback on the material beforehand.

“Not to defend SNL, they don’t approve it. I mean, they could shut it down. They could, but you don’t write your set and give it to them. Unless you’re not a comedian,” he said. “I’m sure non-comics, they write the set for them. They have writers that write the monologue for them.”

“The funniest part was, they were like, ‘What’s going on with the monologue?’ And I was like, ‘It’s not great, but I don’t say anything bad,'” Gillis continued. “The whole time, I was like, ‘Fellas, I’m giving you a solid C minus of a monologue, but I promise there’s no controversy. I’m calling myself fat for fucking 10 minutes. That’s it.'”

Gillis said he thinks the backlash “obviously had a lot to do with the climate.”

As for the clothing itself, Gillis added, “Don’t have a problem with it.”

The monologue drew criticism from Dan Levy, former SNL castmember Ego Nwodim and Obsession star Inde Navarrette, who took a dig at the joke during her opening monologue on the show’s Halloween episode.

In 2019, Gillis was announced as a new SNL castmember but was fired before making his debut after past podcast comments resurfaced.