New 'SNL' cast member Gillis under fire for racist remarks
Hours after Saturday Night Live announced three new cast members Thursday, people were calling for one of them, Shane Gillis, to be fired.
Freelance writer and editor Seth Simons recirculated YouTube video of Gillis using racist terms about Asians on a channel called “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.”
“Chinatown’s f***ing nuts. Let the f***ing c****s live there,” Gillis said.
He and his co-host, comedian Matt McCusker, went on to talk about what they dislike about Chinatown, sometimes using racist pronunciations. While all the video from the show channel has since been deleted, Simons shared a clip.
Twitter users were outraged.
“I’m trying to find a way to express how disgusting this is but I am failing miserably,” one said.
Someone else said the language made them feel “nauseous.”
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Meanwhile, New York Magazine reported that Gillis has a history of racist and homophobic remarks. Kate Banford, co-owner of Good Good Comedy Theatre in Philadelphia, told the magazine she stopped working with him “within the past few years because of racist, homophobic and sexist things he’s said on and offstage.”
As the old clip resurfaced, Gillis took to Twitter late Thursday with an apology “to anyone who’s actually offended”:
In addition to Gillis, the Lorne Michaels-produced show named Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, an SNL writer, would join the cast. Yang is the show’s first full-time, Asian American cast member.
The new season of Saturday Night Live premieres Sept. 28, with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Billie Eilish.