Shane Gillis: From being fired by SNL to hosting SNL
Shane Gillis is a name that many people in the comedy world are familiar with nowadays. He has released two comedy specials, with his second one, Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs, debuting as the number-one show on Netflix the first two days after release. Yet in 2019, while still a rising star in the industry, Shane was fired just days after getting hired at his dream job, a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Gillis had been accused of making racist, sexist, and homophobic comments on his podcast, and the backlash was swift and severe, even if the comments were meant as jokes. He became the latest comedian to get canceled. However, Shane did not let the firing stop him from continuing down the comedy path. He went on tour, performed at comedy clubs across the country, and released a stand-up special on YouTube. He also continued to create content for his podcast, which had gained a loyal following before the controversy.
Today, Shane Gillis is one of the best comedians out there, with a bright future ahead of him. Shane is slated to host an upcoming Saturday Night Live show later this month; that accomplishment will be more significant than his original dream of working on the show.
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Quotes
...and I don't want to be on the other side of it where it's like I'm a free speech guy. It's like dude, I don't want to be involved in any of this, I just want to do comedy.
Shane Gillis
I was not famous at all, I was poor, and then I got cancelled immediately.
Shane Gillis
References
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Shane Gillis to Host Saturday Night Live 5 Years After He Was Fired from the Show for 'Offensive' Comments
The comedian and actor, 36, will make his debut on the comedy sketch series on Feb. 24, alongside musical guest 21 Savage, SNL announced on Saturday.
People
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How Shane Gillis Both Plays to and Mocks Red Staters
Since getting fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 after videos surfaced of him using Asian and gay slurs on a podcast, Gillis has built perhaps one of the fastest growing comedy careers in America. His debut special, released on YouTube in 2021, racked up a staggering 14 million views, and he’s the most popular podcaster on Patreon with more than 71,000 paying listeners.
The New York Times
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4 Years After SNL Firing, Shane Gillis Is Netflix's #1 Comic
SNL cut ties with Gillis four days later. So how has he reached such great heights since? It started with Gillis being able to mock himself for his predicament in the moment, telling anyone who’d listen on podcasts or onstage that SNL was right to let him go.
The Daily Beast
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The Joker
In the industry, comics pay close attention to who can make a crowd laugh so hard that people are gasping for air, and who can reliably fill venues around the country. Gillis is already known as the first type of comic, and he seems to be in the process of becoming the second.
The New Yorker
