It has been almost 5 years since Shane Gillis, the comic, was asked to exit the SNL cast because of a public backlash regarding transphobic and racist jokes. Recently, he came back on the same stage. However, he was anything but defiant and confident in his role as a host. If anyone had such expectations, they were probably even a bit disappointed with the monologue.
Shane Gillis Fights Very Evident Demons
During the time Shane Gillis spent on stage, he spent very little time cracking jokes regarding the controversy. Neither did he give much attention to how his career in comedy saw a rise that prompted his return to the SNL stage. He only asked the audience to not “look that up” after appearing onstage. He reiterated to the audience to not google his name if they were not already aware of his identity.
Shane Gillis’ retinue for the night did not involve any confrontational or gloating jokes. In place of that, he swiftly moved on from the short introduction into a monologue punctuated by uneasiness and slight naughty jabs. One of his jokes was: “Every little boy is just their mom’s gay best friend”. Another time he talked about how people with Down syndrome are among the most joyful people Gillis has known. He has a few relatives like that too.
With the monologue continuing on, Shane Gillis’ discomfort only seemed to increase. It was uncomfortable to watch even though his usual persona onstage is that of a sort of doofus who is slightly awkward. He quipped multiple times on multiple jokes that he expected more of a reaction. At a point, he even said that he could see all the people not having a great time because of how well-lit the place was.