Shane Gillis has responded to the outcry over racial slurs, homophobic comments and similar remarks he made on his podcast that resurfaced after he was announced as one of the new cast members for the 45th season of “SNL.”
“I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss. If you got through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of misses. I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said,” Gillis said in a statement posted to his Twitter account. “My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”
Shortly after it was announced that Gillis, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang (the first cast member of Asian descent) were added to NBC’s long-running sketch show, freelance journalist Seth Simons shared a clip from a September 2018 episode of Gillils’ podcast, “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” in which Gillis used a racial slur and imitated stereotypes about Asians and Asian culture. “Chinatown’s f—ing nuts,” Gillis says to comedian Matt McCusker. “Let the f–ing c—-s live there, huh?”
Also Read: New 'SNL' Cast Member Shane Gillis Used Anti-Asian Racial Slur in 2018 Podcast Episode (Video)
In a second video from the same podcast episode, Gillis says, “An Asian trying to learn English bothers me more than someone listening to Lil Uzi Vert while I’m trying to eat f—ing dinner,” adding, “Nice racism. I love to be f—ing racist.”
All videos related to the podcast were deleted from YouTube soon after, but Vulture resurfaced several other instances of racist, sexist and homophobic comments, including a podcast episode in which Gillis disparaged female comedians and another in which he said comedians like Judd Apatow and Chris Gethard are white f—-t comics” and “f—ing gayer than ISIS.”
Vulture also quoted the co-owner of Philadelphia’s Good God Comedy Theatre, who said that the club “stopped working with Gillis within the past few years because of racist, homophobic, and sexist things he’s said on and offstage.”
Gillis and reps for NBC and “SNL” did not immediately respond to requests for comment from TheWrap.
Antonio Banderas, Kerry Washington and 95 More Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Studio (Photos)
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Robert Pattinson, director Robert Eggers and Willem Dafoe, "The Lighthouse"
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Actress-producer Kerry Washington, "American Son"
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Actor Antonio Banderas, "Pain and Glory"
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Director Bryce Dallas Howard, "Dads"
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Actress Isabelle Huppert, "Frankie"
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Isabelle Huppert and director Ira Sachs, "Frankie"
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Christopher Plummer, "Knives Out"
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Actress Katherine Langford, "Knives Out"
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Actor Jaeden Martell, "Knives Out"
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Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, "Knives Out"
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Actor Don Johnson, "Knives Out"
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Actress Toni Collette, "Knives Out"
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"Knives Out" cast and director Rian Johnson
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Actors Finn Wittrock, Renée Zellweger and director Rupert Goold, "Judy"
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Actress Cynthia Erivo, "Harriet"
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Actor Leslie Odom Jr., "Harriet"
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Director Kasi Lemmons, "Harriet"
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"Harriet" cast with director Kasi Lemmons
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Director Marielle Heller, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"
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Actor Enrico Colantoni, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"
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Actor Kelvin Harrison Jr, "Waves"
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Actress Alexa Demie, "Waves"
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Actor Lucas Hedges, "Waves"
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Actor Taylor Russell, "Waves"
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Director Trey Edward Shults, "Waves"
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"Waves" cast and director Trey Edward Schults
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Actress Dakota Johnson, "The Friend"
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Actor Jason Segel, "The Friend"
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Producer Matthew Teague, stars Dakota Johnson, Jason Segel and director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, "The Friend"
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Actor Jamie Dornan, "Synchronic"
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Actors Jamie Dornan and Ally Ioannides, "Synchronic"
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Ally Ioannides, co-director Justin Benson, Jamie Dornan and co-director Aaron Moorhead, "Synchronic"
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Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, "The Sky Is Pink"
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas and director Shonali Bose, "The Sky Is Pink"
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Actress Isla Fisher, "Greed"
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Actors Isla Fisher and Steve Coogan, "Greed"
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Beanie Feldstein, "How to Build a Girl"
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Actor Alfie Allen, "How to Build a Girl"
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Actors Alfie Allen and Beanie Feldstein, "How to Build a Girl"
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Director Coky Giedroyc, writer Caitlin Moran, actress Beanie Feldstein and actor Alfie Allen, "How to Build a Girl"
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Actress Bolude Watson, "Hearts and Bones"
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Actor Andrew Luri, "Hearts and Bones"
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Actor Hugo Weaving, "Hearts and Bones"
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"Hearts and Bones" cast and director Ben Lawrence
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Director Gabe Polsky and producer Steven Warshaw, "Red Penguins"
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Actor Kyle Marvin and actor-director-writer Michael Angelo Covino, "The Climb"
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Actor Alex Wolff, "Bad Education"
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Actor Ray Romano, "Bad Education"
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Actors Hari Dhilon, Allison Janney, Rafael Casal, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ray Romano, Alex Wolff, Mike Makowsky, and director Cory Finley, "Bad Education"
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Director Peter Cattaneo, actors Sharon Horgan and Jason Flemyng,"Military Wives"
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Director Ellen Page, "There's Something in the Water"
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Director-actor Taika Waititi, "Jojo Rabbit"
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Actor Roman Griffin Davis, "Jojo Rabbit"
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Actor Alfie Allen, "Jojo Rabbit"
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Actor Stephen Merchant, "Jojo Rabbit"
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"JoJo Rabbit" Cast and Director Taika Waititi
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Actor Gael García Bernal, "Ema"
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Actress Mariana Di Girolamo, "Ema"
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Actor Santiago Cabrera, "Ema"
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Gael Garcia Bernal, Mariana Di Girolamo, Santiago Santiago Cabrera and director Pablo Larraín, "Ema"
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Actress-writer-director Julie Delpy, "My Zoe"
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Actor Richard Armitage, "My Zoe"
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Richard Armitage and Julie Delpy, "My Zoe"
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Director Halina Reijn, "Instinct"
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Actress Carice van Houten, "Instinct"
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Actress Valerie Pachner, "A Hidden Life"
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Actor August Diehl, "A Hidden Life"
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Actor Stellan Skarsgård, "Hope"
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Actors Andrea Bræin Hovig, Stellan Skarsgård and director Maria Sødahl, "Hope"
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Actors Laysla De Oliveira and Rossif Sutherland, "Guest of Honour"
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Writer-director Makoto Shinkai, "Weathering With You"
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Actor Daniel Radcliffe, "Guns Akimbo"
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Actress Samara Weaving, "Guns Akimbo"
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Director Jason Lei Howden, Samara Weaving and Daniel Radcliffe, "Guns Akimbo"
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Actor Charlie Hunnam, "True History of The Kelly Gang"
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George Mackay, "True History of the Kelly Gang"
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Director Justin Kurzel, "True History of the Kelly Gang"
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Director Justin Kurzel, stars Essie Davis, George Mackay and Charlie Hunnam, "True History of the Kelly Gang"
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Josh and Ben Safdie, Adam Sandler, "Uncut Gems"
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Actress Idina Menzel, "Uncut Gems"
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Actor Kevin Garnett, "Uncut Gems"
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Actress Julia Fox, "Uncut Gems"
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Actor LaKeith Stanfield, "Uncut Gems"
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"Uncut Gems" cast and directors Josh and Ben Safdie
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Edgar Ramírez, "Wasp Network"
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Actor Wagner Moura, "Wasp Network"
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Director Olivier Assayas, stars Wagner Moura, Édgar Ramirez and Gael García Bernal, "Wasp Network"
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Actor Alex Wolff, "Human Capital"
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Maya Hawke and Alex Wolff, "Human Capital"
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Betty Gabriel, director Marc Meyers, Maya Hawke and Alex Wolff, "Human Capital"
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Actors Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Edward Norton, "Motherless Brooklyn"
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Actor Claes Bang, "The Burnt Orange Heresy"
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Director Giuseppe Capotondi, "The Burnt Orange Heresy"
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Director Hirokazu Koreeda, "The Truth"
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Actor Jonathan Pryce, "The Two Popes"
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Writer Anthony McCarten, director Fernando Meirelles, actors Jonathan Pryce and Juan Minujín, "The Two Popes"
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Actress Malky Goldman, writer-director Keith Thomas, actors Dave Davis and Menashe Lustig, "The Vigil"
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Toronto Film Festival 2019: Robert Pattinson, Renée Zellweger, LaKeith Stanfield and more stop by TheWrap’s studio in the Thompson Hotel