Kenan Thompson says the uproar over Shane Gillis’s “Saturday Night Live” monologue has buried the best parts of the episode. Thompson, who is in his 23rd season and is the show’s longest-tenured cast member, addressed the backlash Tuesday at the Axios Media Trends Live summit in New York. “Everybody’s focusing in on this one specific word,” he said. He argued that newer cast member Grace Reiter’s standout night and musical guest Rosalía have drawn little attention as a result.
Gillis, 38, told the audience he had skipped the gym for so long that he did not realize women “just dress like whores now.” The clip drew over 11 million views on the show’s account. At the curtain call, he told the crowd, “Sorry about earlier.” His representative declined to comment, and Gillis has not addressed the criticism publicly.
Thompson stopped short of condemning his colleague. He said he does not know Gillis as a mean person, and that if Gillis returned he would sit him down and ask what could change. Thompson added that rehiring is not his decision. He described the task as balancing creative freedom against harmful language.
Others spoke more bluntly. Actor Dan Levy called the joke misogynistic. Former cast member Ego Nwodim mocked it in a video, dressed in long sleeves and long pants, and comedian Phoebe Robinson dismissed the material as “mediocre bulls–t.” Weekend Update anchor Michael Che grumbled on Instagram that he faces questions about it while promoting his own special. Dana Carvey took the opposite view on his podcast, saying he did not understand the fuss over what he called a joke. The White House has also weighed in.
The episode revived an old fault line. NBC fired Gillis in September 2019, days after naming him to the cast, when offensive podcast remarks surfaced. Lorne Michaels later said network executives forced him to remove Gillis against his wishes. Gillis returned to host in 2024 and 2025, and this month marked his third turn. He also drew criticism in May for a lynching joke at Netflix’s roast of Kevin Hart.
