Shane Gillis acknowledges being fired from 'Saturday Night Live' while hosting latest episode

Mechanicsburg-native comedian Shane Gillis hosted the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live," five years after he was hired and then abruptly fired for having made racist jokes in his stand-up acts. 

During the Feb. 24 episode, which featured musical guest 21 Savage, Gillis briefly referred to his complicated history with the comedy show in his monologue.

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"I'm here," Gillis said during his monologue. "Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was actually, 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 probably shouldn't be up here, honestly."

Gillis was hired as a full-time cast member in 2019, but was fired within days after clips surfaced of him using a slur referring to Chinese people, mimicking Chinese accents and making other offensive comments. Additional clips also showed Gillis making homophobic, Islamophobic and sexist remarks. Since his firing, Gillis has co-hosted the podcast “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” and starred in the 2023 Netflix comedy special “Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs."

In his monologue, Gillis went on to joke that his calling lies not in comedy, but elsewhere.

"Like, God molded me perfectly to be a high school football coach/ninth grade sex education teacher," Gillis said.

Most of Gillis' monologue consisted of jokes about his family. He poked fun at his father, who was in the audience, who works as a "volunteer assistant girls high school basketball coach."

"I thought it was funny." Gillis said, after the audience's lukewarm response to his joke about his dad. "I thought it was great; never mind. I thought that was going to be a big hit here."

He also reminisced on how he and his mother used to be super close when he was a young kid.

"Every little boy is just their mom's gay best friend," he said.

He then spoke about having relatives with Down syndrome, who he says are "the only ones having a good time pretty consistently."

"I don't know if you can tell by looking at me, but I do have family members with Down syndrome. It almost got me," he said. "I dodged it, but it nicked me."

Gillis grew uneasy after the crowd's response.

“Look, I don’t have any material that can be on TV, all right? I’m trying my best. Also, this place is extremely well-lit. I can see everyone not enjoying it. This is the most nervous I’ve ever been.”

He also spoke about how his sister, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, is married to an Egyptian man and adopted three Black children. He compared visiting their house to "getting in the craziest Uber pool you've ever been in." He also imagined a day in the future when "some white kid" at recess makes fun of his niece and "three Black kids come flying out of nowhere" and start "whaling" on the bully.

While viewers watching the broadcast could hear laughter and applause throughout much of the monologue, it was clear that Gillis felt uncomfortable with how his set was going based on his continuous remarks to that effect. At one point, he exclaimed, "I thought we were allowed to have fun here."

Gillis' monologue was met with mixed reactions online. On an Instagram post about the monologue, comments range from "First time I've laughed during SNL in about 5 years!" to "Is funny in the room with us?"

Early reviews of his hosting gig in the media are also mixed. NPR writer Eric Deggans described Gillis' "uneasy opening monologue" but also called it an "ingenious response" to backlash that SNL received for bringing him on as host.

"Much of it felt like Gillis' attempt to insulate himself from criticism and avoid any jokes that could revive the backlash," Deggans wrote. "But since he also didn't really explain or explore the controversy swirling around his appearance, it all took on the feel of an opportunity missed. Or a subject ducked."

On Saturday's episode, Gillis starred in sketches about Forrest Gump's high school bully, an HR meeting gone awry, a family attending church on vacation, a unique betting app and a game show contestant who isn't very knowledgeable on a certain topic. Gillis also showed off his Donald Trump impersonation during a sketch about the new branded sneakers that the former president announced during Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.

The comedian paid homage to his Pennsylvania roots by posing in SNL promotional photos wearing an Eagles hoodie and what appears to be a Ben Franklin costume.

The latest episode of SNL can be streamed now on Peacock. Next Saturday, actress Sydney Sweeney will host SNL alongside musical guest Kacey Musgraves.