How Shane Gillis returned to success after being fired from Saturday Night Live
17 july 2025 в 21:13
Shane Gillis and Saturday Night Live did not part on good terms in 2019. Just a few days after the announcement of his new participation in the show, this Pennsylvania native was fired due to offensive remarks that were discovered. But since then, Gillis has experienced a significant career comeback, hosting SNL in February 2024 and hosting the ESPY Awards ceremony in July 2025. What happened in the past, and how did he achieve this? Keep reading to learn more about Shane, his career, and his past with SNL.
Shane is a comedian, sketch writer, and podcast host. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he played football for his high school team as an offensive tackle. After a brief stint at West Point, Shane left during his first year and played football for Elon University for one year. He eventually transferred to West Chester University and completed a Bachelor of Arts program.
After graduating from university, Shane taught English in Spain for six months. He officially began performing on stage in 2012, performing in several cities in his home state, including Harrisburg and Lancaster, and eventually moved to Philadelphia.
Less than 10 years after starting his comedy career, Shane was announced in 2019 as a new cast member alongside Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman. However, shortly after the announcement, videos surfaced on social media in which Shane made controversial remarks.
Social media users pointed to videos in which Shane used racist slang to describe people of Asian descent. In one episode of his podcast «Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast» with comedian Matt McCusker, Shane was heard saying, «Let the damn chinks live there» and imitating a Chinese accent.
After NBC learned about Shane’s past remarks, an SNL representative released a statement saying, «After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL. We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced in the last few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these videos earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard».
Shane Gillis released a statement after being fired from #SNL, saying that he has «always been a fan of Mad TV». Read it here.
In response to his dismissal, Shane took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend himself.
«I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries. Sometimes I miss», - he wrote. «I'm willing to apologize to anyone who was actually offended by what I said».
Shane also wrote, «If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses… My aim is never to hurt anyone, but I try to be the best comedian I can be, and sometimes that requires risks».
Despite his career setback, Shane has released his own comedy specials over the years. In September 2021, he released his first live stand-up performance, Shane Gillis: Live in Austin, on YouTube. Two years later, his second live show, Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs, was released on Netflix in September 2023.
In July 2025, Shane was invited to host the ESPYs awards ceremony
Shane is a comedian, sketch writer, and podcast host. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he played football for his high school team as an offensive tackle. After a brief stint at West Point, Shane left during his first year and played football for Elon University for one year. He eventually transferred to West Chester University and completed a Bachelor of Arts program.
After graduating from university, Shane taught English in Spain for six months. He officially began performing on stage in 2012, performing in several cities in his home state, including Harrisburg and Lancaster, and eventually moved to Philadelphia.
Less than 10 years after starting his comedy career, Shane was announced in 2019 as a new cast member alongside Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman. However, shortly after the announcement, videos surfaced on social media in which Shane made controversial remarks.
Social media users pointed to videos in which Shane used racist slang to describe people of Asian descent. In one episode of his podcast «Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast» with comedian Matt McCusker, Shane was heard saying, «Let the damn chinks live there» and imitating a Chinese accent.
After NBC learned about Shane’s past remarks, an SNL representative released a statement saying, «After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL. We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced in the last few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these videos earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard».
Shane Gillis released a statement after being fired from #SNL, saying that he has «always been a fan of Mad TV». Read it here.
In response to his dismissal, Shane took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend himself.
«I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries. Sometimes I miss», - he wrote. «I'm willing to apologize to anyone who was actually offended by what I said».
Shane also wrote, «If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses… My aim is never to hurt anyone, but I try to be the best comedian I can be, and sometimes that requires risks».
Despite his career setback, Shane has released his own comedy specials over the years. In September 2021, he released his first live stand-up performance, Shane Gillis: Live in Austin, on YouTube. Two years later, his second live show, Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs, was released on Netflix in September 2023.
In July 2025, Shane was invited to host the ESPYs awards ceremony
© Artemenko Olga
