‘The Big Weekend Show’ panelists discuss the impact surrounding Saturday Night Live after comedian Shane Gillis, who was previously fired from the show as a cast member, returned to host the late night sketch comedy show over the weekend.
The 36-year-old comedian was fired from the sketch-comedy show in 2019 after a video of him using “Asian slurs” resurfaced.
“If this guy wrote or said something that was bad and they maybe went overboard firing whatever, is there no path back to redemption? You can never do anything ever again. Like, I’m glad that SNL ignored that mentality and brought him back, maybe belatedly, because he did a good job,” Fox News contributor, Guy Benson, said.
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SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1856 — Pictured: Host Shane Gillis during the Monologue on Saturday, February 24, 2024 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images) ((Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images))
Co-host Charlie Hurt added, “This is the problem with these people. It’s like the, like the L.A. times, their entire existence is based on the First Amendment and the right to free speech. And as soon as somebody else exercises their free speech and says something they don’t like, or they don’t agree with, they are the first ones to try to take it away from people.”
Gillis, whose performance on the show has since been referred to as a “dangerous failure to learn from the hate movements that blossomed during the Trump era” by the L.A. Times, was ousted by mainstream media for his unpredictable humor following his brief SNL stint five years ago.
The comic decided to fund his own special as a result, ‘Live in Austin,’ which he released for free on YouTube in 2021 – a production that has since garnered 24 million views.
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Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe asked, “Aren’t comedians supposed to push the boundaries and be controversial?”
“It’s not just the humor, it’s also the truthfulness. I mean, you know, the whole point of court jesters is that they tell the truth, and it’s in a funny way, and they get away with it, and they don’t get beheaded by the king,” Hurt tacked on.
“Americans, people all over are itching for more comedy. They want to laugh at things, especially in times that feel very heavy. People really want to laugh about these things. And the oversensitivity in calling jokes about certain people, hate movements. I think people are getting really tired of that,” co-host Katie Pavlich stated.
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Comedian and SNL host Shane Gillis as Gordon Dwyer during the “Trump Sneakers” sketch on Saturday, February 24, 2024 ((Photo by: Colin Cauldwell/NBC via Getty Images))
“There’s a reason why you’ve seen comedians refusing to go to college campuses, for example, because it’s just not worth it to them. They’re going to go to an audience. And there are many of them that exist where people want to laugh and not take things too seriously. And comedy is a great way to joke and to really establish what’s happening in the country, almost a historical record in a way that can be funny. And so people want more jokes, they don’t want to be scolded,” Pavlitch continued.
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Variety magazine reported that Gillis’ wrote a statement on X in 2019 after being let go, which read, “It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are. 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 mad tv [sic] guy anyway.”
“He won that one, and I’m sure that he’ll be back somewhere else, even if SNL doesn’t have him back,” Pavlitch concluded.
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