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GOTTA HURT

‘SNL’ Veteran Goes Nuclear on MAGA-Friendly Host’s Gym Joke

The comedy legend got personal.

Paula Pell, Shane Gillis

The Daily Beast/Getty/NBC

Paula Pell has become the latest Saturday Night Live alum to call out comedian Shane Gillis.

Pell, 63, fired back at Gillis, 38, for his remarks during last weekend’s guest stint on the NBC sketch show.

“Having any observation about a gym other than he went only once to shower when his building turned off the water and he had s--t himself taking a nap would be pure fiction,” Pell, who spent nearly two decades writing for the show, posted in a scathing takedown.

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Veteran comedian Paula Pell ripped into Shane Gillis.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Todd Owyoung/NBC

The Emmy-award-winning comedian made her case against Gillis after the latter joked about women and their gym attire last Saturday. In his opening monologue, he declared, “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like wh--es now. Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe—have you seen it?”

“The shorts. Have you seen the shorts?” he continued. “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.”

Host Shane Gillis during the monologue on Saturday, October 10, 2026

Shane Gillis during the monologue on Saturday, October 10.

NBC/Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty

Other SNL stars and alumni have called out Gillis for the misogynistic material.

Saturday Night Live veteran Ego Nwodim made a facetious comment on her Instagram Stories, posting a photo of herself at the gym with the caption, “Wh--e reporting for duty.”

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Cecily Strong, the show’s longest-running female cast member, also posted a fiery Instagram Story. “On my way to Pilates in my new sl--ty a-- orange shoes and rainbow socks,” she wrote alongside a picture of her gym attire. “Might sell sex on the way not sure.”

“PS there was a gang rape at Cornell that maybe won’t count because the NY law says if you consent to drinking you consent to all that happens to you,” Strong continued, referring to Cornell University’s harrowing rape case in which a former student alleged that seven men drugged and gang-raped her.

Cecily Strong

Cecily Strong's response to Shane Gillis on Instagram.

Instagram/ @cecilystrong

“Weekend Update“ co-host Michael Che also weighed in on the controversy, sarcastically addressing Gillis on Instagram. “Gotta do more press this week to promote the special...wonder what every f---ing questions gonna be about 🙄..thanks a lot shane,” he joked, referencing his new Netflix comedy special, Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota.

During his third stint since getting fired in 2019, Gillis dropped an uncensored F-bomb and walked offstage early during the show’s closing credits.

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