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SNL's Michael Che Clarifies Reaction to Shane Gillis' Controversial Monologue
· Confirmed
In Short: Michael Che, Weekend Update host on Saturday Night Live, clarified his reaction to Shane Gillis' controversial monologue, which included a joke about women's clothing in gyms.
Che appeared on the Today show to promote his new comedy special and was asked about Gillis' monologue, which drew mixed reactions from the audience.
Che initially tried to avoid answering direct questions about the monologue, but later took to Instagram to address the controversy.
In his Instagram post, Che emphasized that women wearing short shorts to the gym does not make them whores and highlighted the importance of defending women.
Che explained that he was not aware of the monologue until the next day and that he does not pay much attention to what others are doing on the show.
Shane Gillis, who hosted SNL for the third time, made jokes about women's clothing in gyms and accidentally dropped an F-bomb during a sketch.
Gillis apologized for the moment when closing the show, and some fans praised his quick thinking during the gaffe.
Ego Nwodim, a former SNL cast member, responded to Gillis' monologue with a sassy Instagram post, captioning a photo of herself at the gym with the caption, 'Whore reporting for duty.'
Nwodim also shared a photo of her post-workout meal, adding, 'Getting my 30 grams of protein in after heauxing.'
What this adds
Michael Che's clarification came after he was grilled on the Today show about the controversial joke.
Shane Gillis' monologue included a joke about women dressing like 'whores' at the gym, which was met with mixed reactions from the audience.
Gillis' apology and the fans' reaction to his gaffe highlight the complexity of handling controversial moments on live television.
Background
Michael Che, Weekend Update host on Saturday Night Live, clarified his reaction to Shane Gillis' controversial monologue, which included a joke about women's clothing in gyms.
Michael Che, Weekend Update host on Saturday Night Live, clarified his reaction to Shane Gillis' controversial monologue, which included a joke about women's clothing in gyms.
What's confirmed
- Gillis was criticized when he joked that women dress like “whores” at the gym.
- “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now?” Gillis said on the late-night show.
- “It’s not a morning time special but it is really fun,” he told TODAY’s Laura Jarrett.
What's still developing
- The 43-year-old went on to note how his Oct. 15 appearance on Today —during which host Laura Jarrett pressed Che on whether he had laughed at Gillis’ monologue joke that called wh--es for wearing spandex shorts to the gym—was to promote his new comedy special, within which he makes many jokes that people could find offensive.
- “squat nekkid.” But while Che had initially attempted to skirt answering direct questions from Jarrett about the now-infamous monologue, other male celebrities were far less hesitant to share their opinion.
- After Michael Che had an awkward reaction to questions about Shane Gillis ’ divisive Saturday Night Live monologue during an appearance on the Today show, the Weekend Update host set out to set the record straight on his perspective.
- Gillis appeared to draw few laughs from the studio audience after making the remark during the monologue, which marked his third time hosting the NBC sketch comedy show. (“SNL” airs on NBC, a division of NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of NBC News.) After lamenting that he needs to lose weight, he went on to describe the “neon, artificial-vape colored” shorts that women are wearing to work out, and the fact that men are not allowed to look at women in those shorts.
- “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 a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL,” a spokesperson for “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels told NBC News in 2019.
- “This is his contribution to that conversation,” she said.
- Mikey actually got the most plaudits from fans, though, for improving with the gaffe itself. Fans reacted to the slip-up with comments online like: "How they incorporated the accidental slip within the sketch is genius!!" plus: "I like how the unscripted accidental slip was the funniest part of this sketch," as well as: "I was thinking 'wow, Shane's going to get in the 5 timers club quick at this rate!' Then the f bomb might postpone that a bit."
- During the "Green Eggs & Ham" sketch with Mikey Day and Andrew Dismukes, which you can watch above, Shane accidentally dropped an F-bomb in place of the word "jeez," and quickly tries to cover it up, to the audience's shock.
- After a stand-up style monologue that incited mixed reactions from the in-studio audience, including jokes about his friend Joe Rogan that silenced the room and digs at women in gyms, he accidentally committed one of the show's greatest faux pas – swearing on-air.
- Shane Gillis' third time hosting Saturday Night Live did not go down the way he'd probably hoped.
- “Saturday Night Live” star Michael Che shared his reaction after the show’s host last weekend, Shane Gillis, generated backlash with a joke about women’s clothing in his opening monologue.
- Michael Che gave an awkward interview on the Today show as he tried to avoid talking about the controversial Shane Gillis joke on Saturday Night Live.