Shane Gillis: 5 Things About ‘SNL’ Star Who Was Fired Over Racial & Homophobic Slurs

Shane Gillis has been fired from ‘Saturday Night Live’, just days after he was named as a new cast member. The comedian was removed from the show after alleged video clips emerged of him making racial and homophobic slurs during a podcast.

Shane Gillis was fired just days after being confirmed as one of the three new additions — alongside newcomers comedian Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman — to Saturday Night Live‘s 45th season. His removal from the SNL lineup came after since-deleted video clips from 2018 surfaced, where he can be heard using racial and homophobic slurs about those of Chinese descent. The clips were uploaded to the YouTube channel titled, “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast”. Learn more about Shane and his firing from SNL, below.

1. Saturday Night Live confirmed Shane would not be joining the show’s 45th season in a statement on September 16 (2019). — “After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining ‘SNL,’” an SNL spokesperson on behalf of executive producer Lorne Michaels said in a statement via, TVLine. “We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for SNL. We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard,” the statement concluded.

“Chinatown’s f—ing nuts,” Shane allegedly says at one point in the September 2018 conversation, which has since been deleted. “Let the f—-ing ch–ks live there,” the video continues. Another episode, according to multiple reports, features Shane referring to Judd Apatow and Chris Gethard as “white f—got comics,” calling them “f—ing gayer than ISIS.”

2. Shane has responded to the news of his firing. — “It feels ridiculous for comedians to making serious public statements but here we are,” Gillis tweeted in a note, which appeared to be drafted on his phone, on Monday just moments after the news went public. “I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can’t be taken away. Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a [MADtv] guy anyway.”

Days before his firing, Shane had already come under fire for his resurfaced comments. On September 12, he addressed the issue on Twitter, writing, “I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss. If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses. I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”

3. He is an actor and comedian from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. — Shane got into comedy in 2012 and relocated to Philadelphia, PA, where he was a known fixture in Philly’s comedy theaters and events. In 2016, Shane started the “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” with Matt Mckusker. In 2017, Shane became a frequent guest on “The Bonfire” with Big Jay Oakerson and Dan Soder, where he gained more comedic notoriety. He also began a weekly show on Compound Media titled, “A Fair One” alongside with Tommy Pope. In 2019, Comedy Central named Shane an “Up Next” comedian as he performed at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, and he was a New Face at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival. He eventually moved to New York as his career continued to grow.

4. Shane has comedy shows scheduled throughout September, October and November following his SNL firing. — He has shows on Sept. 20 and 21 in Helium Indianapolis; Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in Acme Minneapolis; and, Nov. 22-23 in Goodnights Raleigh, according to his website. It’s unclear if he will cancel shows in light of the controversy.

5. It’s unknown if Shane is married or has children. — He has a history degree from Temple University, and has a brief teaching stint in Spain.