Why was Shane Gillis Fired from SNL? What Did Shane Gillis Say?
by Mathelene
Updated Oct 26, 2023
Why was Shane Gillis Fired from SNL?
Shane Gillis was fired from Saturday Night Live (SNL) because of offensive comments he made in 2018. He had been announced as a new cast member for SNL in 2019, but only five days later, old videos and podcasts showed him using hurtful language, including slurs about gay people and derogatory terms about Asian people. This led to his firing.
Even though he said sorry, the damage was done. His words upset a lot of people, and he faced serious backlash, not only from SNL but also from the media and celebrities. After being fired, Gillis talked about how he felt "destroyed" by social media. He said he understood the rules but wondered why those rules existed.
Since then, Gillis has bounced back in the comedy world. He got a role in Pete Davidson's show "Bupkis," and he's been doing stand-up comedy and making appearances on podcasts. He also released a stand-up special on Netflix called "Beautiful Dogs," which people seem to like.
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Who is Shane Gillis?
Shane Gillis is an American comedian, writer, and podcaster. He's well-known for co-hosting the popular podcast "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast" with fellow comedian Matt McCusker, and this podcast is quite successful on Patreon. In 2019, Gillis gained recognition when he was named one of the "New Faces" at the annual Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.
However, his most notable moment came in 2019 when he was hired as a cast member for the TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL), a popular comedy program. Unfortunately, just five days after the announcement, he got fired from SNL due to a strong negative reaction. This was because of past podcast episodes from 2018 that contained jokes with offensive language.
In 2021, Gillis released his first comedy special on YouTube called "Shane Gillis: Live in Austin." He's also worked with filmmaker John McKeever on an online sketch series called "Gilly & Keeves."
Full Name
Shane Michael Gillis
Birth Date
December 11, 1987
Age
35
Place of Birth
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education
United States Military Academy, West Chester University, Elon University
Occupation
Stand-up comedian, radio personality, sketch comedy writer, and podcaster
Nationality
American
Shane Gillis Age
As of 2023, Shane Gillis is 35 years old. Shane Michael Gillis was born on December 11, 1987, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, which is a town near Harrisburg. He went to Trinity High School in Camp Hill, where he played football as an offensive tackle and graduated in 2006.
After high school, he started at West Point but left after a short time. Later, he went to Elon University, where he played football for a year. Eventually, he finished his studies at West Chester University. After graduating from college, he went to Spain for six months to teach English. This means he spent some time teaching English to people in Spain as part of his experiences.
Shane Gillis Career
Shane Gillis started his comedy career in 2012. He performed regularly in places like Harrisburg and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Philadelphia to further his career. In 2015, he came in third place in Helium Comedy Club's annual "Philly's Phunniest" tournament, and he won the tournament the following year. Some of his stand-up comedy influences include Louis C.K., Norm Macdonald, Dave Chappelle, Patrice O'Neal, Bernie Mac, and Bill Burr.
In 2016, Gillis began the podcast "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast" with Matt McCusker. He became a frequent guest on "The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Dan Soder" in 2017, which increased his popularity. He also started a weekly show on Compound Media called "A Fair One with Tommy Pope."
In 2019, Gillis was announced as a featured cast member on "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) but was fired shortly after due to controversy. Since then, he has continued his stand-up comedy career and launched a web series with John McKeever called "Gilly and Keeves." He released a live comedy special on YouTube titled "Shane Gillis: Live in Austin" in 2021, which received recognition. In 2023, he released his second live comedy special, "Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs," on Netflix.
What Did Shane Gillis Say?
Shane Gillis said offensive things that led to his firing from Saturday Night Live (SNL). He made hurtful comments in old videos and podcasts from 2018. He used slurs against gay people and said bad things about Asian people, using a disrespectful term for them. Even though he apologized and explained that he didn't mean to harm anyone, the damage was already done.
Many people were upset and criticized him, including SNL and some celebrities. Gillis admitted that his words were a "bad joke" and talked about how he felt like he was "destroyed" on social media. He said he knew he would get fired when those old clips resurfaced. His comments were hurtful and offensive to many, and they caused a lot of controversy and backlash, which ultimately cost him his job on SNL.
Why was Shane Gillis Fired from SNL? - FAQs
Gillis was fired from SNL because of offensive comments he made in 2018 that surfaced shortly after he was announced as a new cast member. These comments contained derogatory language and slurs.
Shane Gillis is an American stand-up comedian, radio personality, sketch comedy writer, and podcaster.
Shane Gillis is 35 years old.
He launched a web series called "Gilly and Keeves" with comedian John McKeever and has made appearances on podcasts like "The Joe Rogan Experience."
Shane Gillis's controversial comedy special was not explicitly mentioned, but his offensive comments were made in the past on a podcast and in various videos.