Viewers have been treated to a wide range of hosts during Saturday Night Live Season 49. Pete Davidson, Adam Driver and Ayo Edeberi are just a few of the notable names that have taken to the stage at Studio 8H this year. One person some may not have expected to headline NBC’s late-night sketch comedy institution is Shane Gillis. That’s because the comedian was notably fired from the program several years ago after controversial statements he’d made resurfaced. So, upon his return, he wasted no time in poking fun at his ousting, even declaring that he “probably shouldn’t be” on the program.
Like various comedian hosts before him, Shane Gillis essentially performed a stand-up set. Those who are family with his work will probably not be surprised in the slightest to hear that Gillis kicked off his monologue by addressing the elephant in the room. He first quipped that many people in attendance probably weren’t aware of who he is, before he segued into the controversy he was embroiled in a few years back:
Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was fired from this show a while ago. But, you know, don’t look that up, please. If you don’t know who I am, please don’t Google that. It’s fine, don’t even worry about it. I don’t know, I probably shouldn’t be up here, honestly. I should be home, I should be a high school football coach. That’s what I should be. Like, God molded me perfectly to be a high school football coach/ninth grade sex education teacher.
The 36-year-old comic went on to poke fun at himself throughout the remainder of the set. He also made observations about his parents and shared some brutally honest takes on some childhood experiences and his other relatives. Check out the monologue for yourself down below from YouTube:
SNL hired Shane Gillis in 2019 alongside Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang for the show’s 45th season. It was after Gillis was hired that comments he made during a 2018 installment of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast, which he co-hosts with Matt McCusker, surfaced. The two made jokes involving the LGBTQ+ community and puns regarding the Asian community. In the latter case, they notably used an ethnic slur. As reported by Vanity Fair at the time, Gillis expressed a willingness to apologize, though he also later stated that the jokes were taken out of context. Shortly after the controversy, he was let go from the show.
Many compared his situation to that of Norm Macdonald, as the late comic was ousted from Saturday Night Live in 1998 only to return as a host in 1999. When the highly quotable Macdonald returned, he also openly discussed his exit, though one could argue that he was a bit bolder than Gillis. Macdonald opined that the reason he’d been brought back to the show was because its quality had greatly declined.
Whether the series has improved or worsened since Shane Gillis is debatable. However, it’s fair to say that he himself has found success since being let go. After his firing, Gillis found success with his Netflix special, Beautiful Dogs. He also remains a presence within the comedy and podcast spaces. It’s definitely interesting that he was hired as a host, given everything that went down. Yet, if his monologue was any indication, he had no problem addressing the awkwardness of the situation.
Saturday Night Live returns with Sydney Sweeney as host and Kacey Musgraves as musical guest on March 2 at 11:30 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule. You can also stream episodes using a Peacock subscription.
