SNL UK obliterates controversial US comedian Shane Gillis in foul-mouthed sketch
US comedian sparked wave of controversy after joking that ‘women dress like whores now’
SNL UK has hit out at the most recent celebrity guest host of their American sibling Saturday Night Live, with comedian Ania Magliano delivering a hilariously foul-mouthed swipe.
US comedian Shane Gillis sparked a wave of controversy over the last week, after using his opening monologue on last Saturday’s SNL to deliver a bizarre aside about women’s gymwear.
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long,” Gillis began. “I didn’t realise women just dressed like whores now.” The joke prompted groans and jeers from the audience, leading Gillis to add: “Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe it.”
Gillis did make an apology later on in the episode – but not about the joke and instead a snafu during a sketch that saw him accidentally swear live on air. Gillis quickly apologised to the audience at the end of the show while saying goodnight to the crowd alongside musical guest Rosalia, adding, “Sorry about earlier.”
On SNL UK, Magliano directly rebuked Gillis’s jokes during the show’s Weekend Update segment, in which the week in news is dissected.
“A ride operator at Munich Oktoberfest was praised for giving free cycling shorts to female riders,” Magliano began. “Wearing the gym shorts will protect women from being upskirted but it does make them vulnerable to something much worse…”
Behind her then flashed an image of Gillis delivering his SNL monologue.
But Magliano wasn’t done. She then made a further joke at Gillis’s expense.
“Last week on SNL, comedian Shane Gillis also caused controversy by dropping the F-bomb,” she explained. “Oh Shane, you’re not allowed to say that, you stupid f***ing c**t.”
Although Gillis’s episode of SNL marked his third time hosting the show, the comedian has a complicated history with the sketch show. He was hired as a cast member on the show in 2019 alongside Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman, but was fired before ever making his debut after podcast clips resurfaced of him making homophobic and racist jokes.
After his firing, Gillis apologised to “anyone actually offended” by his comedy, and described himself in a statement as a “comedian who pushes boundaries.”
“If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses,” he said at the time. “I’m happy to apologise to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said. My intention is never to hurt anyone, but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be, and sometimes that requires risks.”
SNL UK has become notorious during its second series for calling out important figures in the world of politics, royalty and entertainment. The first episode of the new series saw the show mock the return to Britain of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with some very off-colour jokes.
The third episode saw guest host Amelia Dimoldenberg describe Ed Sheeran as a “world-famous redheaded puppet with a hand up his arse telling him what to say”, amid his controversial dismissal of Macklemore from his US tour.
