'SNL' Fires New Cast Member Shane Gillis After Outcry Over Racist Jokes

NBC

“Saturday Night Live” fired new cast member Shane Gillis Monday after videos of Gillis using racial slurs in a September 2018 episode of his podcast surfaced on Thursday.

“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL,” an “SNL” spokesperson said on behalf of Lorne Michaels. “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 comedian and his impressive audition for SNL. 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. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”

Gillis responded to the firing in a tweet Monday.

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“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 guy anyway.”

The comedian responded to the Twitter outcry Thursday night after several people called for him to be fired for using racist language, homophobic comments and similar remarks on his podcast “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.”

“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.”

Also Read: Shane Gillis' Non-Apology Over Racist Jokes Is Not Enough (Commentary)

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 Gillis’ 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?”

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.”

The 45th season of “Saturday Night Live” premieres Sept. 28 on NBC.

13 Cursed Movies for Friday the 13th, From 'Poltergeist' to 'The Crow' (Photos)

Happy Friday the 13th. Making movies proves that Murphy's Law is a real and horrifying thing. These 13 films were struck by chaos, misfortune -- and in some cases even death, during their production. Some became massive blunders while others became cult favorites famous for their notorious development.
"Waterworld"

"Waterworld" was under stormy weather from the beginning. A hurricane destroyed one of the film's multi-million-dollar sets and nearly killed Kevin Costner, according to Yahoo. In an interview with A.V. Club, Joss Whedon called rewriting the script "seven weeks of hell." Still, this film's curse is tame compared to those of the rest on this list.
Universal
"Apocalypse Now"

The horror! Francis Ford Coppola was tempting fate when he decided to film "Apocalypse Now" during monsoon season. Big mistake. The monsoon destroyed multiple sets, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming, and Coppola was so stressed that he suffered a seizure, according to The Independent. "Apocalypse Now" turned out to be a masterpiece anyway, but the documentary "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" about its making is just as engrossing.
Lionsgate
"The Exorcist"

"The Exorcist" is one of the most infamously cursed movies of all time. Nine people died during the shoot, and it is said that a fire destroyed large portions of the set, according to Entertainment Weekly. The story of the film's production became the subject of an "E! True Hollywood Story" episode.
Warner Bros.
"Fitzcarraldo"

Dysentery. Injuries. Fights among the crew. Nothing seemed to go right during the filming of "Fitzcarraldo." The story concerns hauling a boat over a hill, which the crew literally accomplished, but not without the same nightmarish difficulty as is depicted in the film. And in the end, director Werner Herzog looked as mad and overly driven as its hero. Check out the documentary "Burden of Dreams" for more.
Anchor Bay Films
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

Bad luck ran amok in Middle Earth during the filming of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." DVD interviews revealed that multiple actors and stuntmen suffered injuries while shooting the film's elaborate fight sequences. The worst was Viggo Mortensen, who broke his toe and chipped his tooth while filming.
New Line Cinema
"The Conqueror"

"The Conqueror" is a whitewashed 1956 film with John Wayne as Genghis Khan. The film was shot at a location downwind from a nuclear testing site, causing dozens of crew members to eventually die of cancer.
RKO
"The Omen"

No one was seriously hurt during filming of "The Omen," but chaos seemed to surround everyone involved. Star Gregory Peck and screenwriter David Seltzer had their flights struck by lightning on way to filming. Director Richard Donner's hotel was bombed by the IRA. And members of the crew were caught in a car crash.
Fox
"Twilight Zone: The Movie"

Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed during filming of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" when a helicopter crashed during a Vietnam flashback scene, leading to major changes in the way movies were made.
Warner Bros.
"Rosemary's Baby"

During the filming of "Rosemary's Baby," lead actress Mia Farrow received her divorce papers from Frank Sinatra. A few months after, director Roman Polanski lost his wife Sharon Tate when she was murdered by followers of Charles Manson.
Paramount
"Poltergeist"

Over the course of the original Poltergeist trilogy, several cast members died tragically. In 1982, 22-year-old Dominique Dunne was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the release of the first film. Six years later, 12-year-old Heather O'Rourke died of septic shock before the third movie was released.
MGM
The Superman Curse

Comic book movie fans may know about the "Superman Curse," which is said to afflict multiple actors involved in Superman films. Christopher Reeve was paralyzed following a horse accident. And Margot Kidder, who played Lois opposite Reeve, suffered from bipolar disorder, according to TCM.
Warner Bros.
"The Crow"

Brandon Lee, the star of "The Crow," was killed during filming when a prop gun wasn't loaded properly, according to the Los Angeles Times. When the gun fired, a piece of shell casing struck his chest and killed him instantly.
Miramax
"Atuk"

"Atuk" is a movie so cursed that it never got made. It was supposed to be a movie about an Eskimo in New York and had four different men attached to play the lead while in development hell: John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy and Chris Farley. All four died shortly after entering negotiations to be in the film.
Getty

1 of 14

Chaos, misfortune and tragedy struck these films

Happy Friday the 13th. Making movies proves that Murphy's Law is a real and horrifying thing. These 13 films were struck by chaos, misfortune -- and in some cases even death, during their production. Some became massive blunders while others became cult favorites famous for their notorious development.

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‘SNL’ Fires New Cast Member Shane Gillis After Outcry Over Racist Jokes

13 Cursed Movies for Friday the 13th, From 'Poltergeist' to 'The Crow' (Photos)

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