Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Rob Schneideris speaking out in defense of formerSaturday Night Livecast member Shane Gillis following hisfiringfrom the NBC sketch comedy series after an online video resurfaced depicting Gillis making a racial slur.
“Dear @ShaneMGillis as a formerSNLcast member I am sorry that you had the misfortune of being a cast member during this era of culture unforgiveness where comedic misfires are subject to the intolerable inquisition of those who never risked bombing on stage themselves,” Schneider, 55,wroteon Twitter on Monday.
Schneider’s tweet comes just hours afterSNLannounced their decision to part ways with Gillis.
“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joiningSNL,” anSNLspokesperson said in a statement on behalf of show creatorLorne Michaels.
“We wantSNLto 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 forSNL,” the statement continued.
“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,” the statement reads. “We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”
AfterSNLannounced that Gillis was no longer a part of the cast, he released a statement of his own on Twitter, in which he said that he respects the show’s “decision.”
“It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are. I’m a comedian who was funny enough to getSNL. That can’t be taken away,” he said. “Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself atSNL, 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 mad tv guy anyway.”
On Thursday, after the comedy show revealed its newest stars, which includes Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, a clip from September 2018 posted to a YouTube channel called Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast began to circulate online.
“Chinatown’s f—— nuts,” Gillis says to Matt McCusker in the clip. “Let the f—— ch— live there,” he adds.
Gillis then continues to spew out insults when talking about eating at Chinese restaurants.
“The translation between you and the waiter is such a f—— hassle, I’m pointing at it,” he says in the clip. Gillis even mimics Chinese accents.
Shane Gillis.Shane Gillis/Instagram
The clip immediately outragedSNLviewers and social media users with many of themcalling for him to be fired.Ultimately, the backlash later prompted Gillis to address the issue on Twitter.
“My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”
Season 45 ofSNLpremieres on Sept. 28 at 11 p.m. ET on NBC.
source: people.com
