‘THANKS A LOT’

‘SNL’ Star Calls Out MAGA-Friendly Host for Ruining His Week

Michael Che has weighed in on the Shane Gillis controversy.

Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che has called out MAGA-friendly comedian Shane Gillis over the misogynistic comments he made during his comeback to the show.

Gillis’ return to the NBC sketch show as guest host became instantly controversial after he made an unsavory joke about women’s gym attire during his monologue.

“I haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t know women just dress like wh---s now?” said Gillis. “I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe. Have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts?”

“The shorts. Have you seen the shorts? Those neon, they’re like artificial bait-colored. And the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combined at the butthole. And don’t look; you’re not allowed to look. For real, don’t look because they are filming. I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now,” he continued.

Che, SNL’s Weekend Update anchor, is the latest to weigh in on the controversy. In a series of Instagram stories, Che wrote, “Gotta do more press this week to promote the special...wonder what every f---ing questions gonna be about 🙄..thanks a lot shane.”

Che was referring to his new Netflix stand-up comedy special, Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota, which premiered on Tuesday.

Reddit users were dubious about whether Che was actually critiquing Gillis. “If you genuinely thought he was upset, you haven’t been following him much at all,” wrote one. “He’s telling a joke,” said another. One posited that the stories seem “like banter amongst friends.”

While it’s not clear whether Che was being facetious—or actually condemning Gillis—there was plenty of backlash from other comedians.

Several famous faces tore apart Gillis over his remarks. Schitt’s Creek creator and actor Dan Levy posted a video on Instagram, saying, “Women wearing short shorts to the gym does not make them wh---s. It makes the men calling them ‘wh---s,’ misogynists. There’s a difference there.”

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SNL alum Ego Nwodim also threw shade at Gillis. She posted a picture of herself at the gym on her Instagram Stories, writing, “Wh--- reporting for duty.”

“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like wh---s now. Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe—have you seen it?” she quipped.

Singer Maren Morris similarly posted a video of herself at the gym, writing in the caption, “me being a wh0re at the gym.” Comedian Phoebe Robinson called Gillis’s jokes “mediocre bulls--t,” adding, “Aren’t we sick of this misogynistic, lazy-a--, hack, mediocre, straight-male f---ing disdain for women that’s masked as f---ing comedy? Don’t we want better?”

NOT LAUGHING

Emmy Winner Calls Out MAGA-Friendly ‘SNL’ Host

Eboni Boykin-Patterson

Gillis also shocked viewers during his return to the show by using the F-word during a Dr. Seuss-themed sketch. He immediately cringed, then later apologized to the audience for the uncensored profanity, saying, “Sorry about earlier.”

According to unaired footage obtained by LateNighter, he abruptly left the stage at the end of the show.

OUTTA HERE

MAGA-Friendly ‘SNL’ Host Walks Off in Unaired Footage

Eboni Boykin-Patterson

Gillis was fired from SNL in 2019 for making racist and homophobic comments.

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Meera NavlakhaEntertainment Reporter

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