SNL star Michael Che awkwardly ducks questions about Shane Gillis’ ‘misogynistic’ monologue in tense interview
Saturday Night Live star Michael Che found himself awkwardly maneuvering when faced with questions about Shane Gillis’ controversial monologue last weekend.
While guest-hosting the latest episode of the NBC sketch show, Gillis, 38, performed a bit saying that female gymgoers ‘just dress like w****s now.’
Amid an explosive online backlash to Gillis’ joke, Che, 43, posted to Instagram that he still had to promote his own upcoming stand-up special and added: ‘wonder what every f***ing questions gonna be about. thanks a lot shane.’
His social media complaint was brought up to him Thursday morning by anchor Laura Jarrett, who was interviewing him on the Today show.
‘Oh, no,’ Che groaned, before remarking on the blowback to Gillis: ‘That’s comedy. You think it’s funny and then some people don’t.’
When asked if he laughed at Gillis’ set, Che deflected the query, noting that he ‘was at cue cards, actually, thinking about what I was gonna say that was gonna make people upset. I didn’t even see it until the next day.’
Saturday Night Live star Michael Che found himself awkwardly maneuvering when faced with questions about Shane Gillis’ controversial monologue; Che pictured on the show
While guest-hosting the latest episode of the NBC sketch show, Gillis, 38, performed a bit saying that female gymgoers ‘just dress like w****s now’
Jarrett asked what Che ‘thought’ when he finally heard the joke, to which he replied after a long hesitation that he ‘didn’t think about it honestly.’
She then pointed out that ‘the writers get to see the opening monologue – right? – ahead of time,’ but Che once again refused to be drawn.
‘If you’re not working,’ said the Manhattan-born funnyman. ‘There’s so much going on, it’s really hard to see what everyone’s doing, especially like for me. I’m not what they call “good at my job,” so I don’t pay attention to all that.’
He remarked later in the interview that ‘I can’t criticize anybody for swinging and missing ’cause I’ve definitely swung and missed too. I try to keep that heat off of it.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Che and Gillis’ representatives for comment.
Gillis’ latest appearance on Saturday Night Live earned the most live viewers of the three times he has hosted the show, with an average of 4.4 million people watching the episode, according to Nielsen ratings licensed by the outlet Late Nighter.
In his monologue, Gillis mocked himself for ‘going to the public gym as a fat guy’ surrounded by ‘the hottest gay guys you’ve ever seen,’ before saying: ‘Also, I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like w****s now.’
He continued with a smile: ‘Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe – have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts? Have you seen the shorts?’
Gillis earned laughs describing the activewear as ‘neon’ and ‘artificial bait-colored’ with wrinkles that ‘go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole.’
He quipped: ‘And don’t look. You’re not allowed to look. For real, don’t look, because they are filming. I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now.’
As a social media furor erupted over the monologue, Gillis was vociferously denounced in an Instagram video by Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy
As a social media furor erupted over the monologue, Gillis was vociferously denounced in an Instagram video by Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy.
‘Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them w****s. It makes the men calling them w****s misogynists. There’s a difference there,’ said Levy.
‘By the way, I’ve seen more men’s nipples at the gym than I’ve ever seen women showing their bodies off,’ observed the son of SCTV icon Eugene Levy.
‘But I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television. And to be perfectly honest, more men need to be standing up in opposition to this, because it’s complacency that has created the environment with which women are sexually assaulted and it’s a “conversation” as opposed to a crime.’
NFL star Travis Kelce was then drawn into the scandal when he liked the video of Gillis’ monologue on Saturday Night Live’s official Instagram page.
He quickly drew howls of condemnation on X, where one user branded him ‘a d*****bag frat bro’ and another called him a ‘disgusting man.’
Even his new wife Taylor Swift was unable to avoid the blowback entirely, with one observer demanding on Reddit: ‘Taylor, is this your king?? Come get your man girl.’
Swift and Kelce exchanged vows at a 1,000-guest ceremony at Madison Square Garden officiated by Adam Sandler, whose 2025 movie Happy Gilmore 2 had featured a shirtless cameo by the football heartthrob.
Social media exploded with outrage at Travis Kelce after the NFL star liked a post of Gillis’ Saturday Night Live monologue; Kelce pictured with Taylor Swift last year
This June, Gillis was a celebrity guest at Kelce’s annual Tight End University training camp, as seen in a video for the sports comedy page JokeWRLD.
Kelce was shown greeting Gillis with a warm hug, after voiceover narration referred to the comedian and the football player as ‘friends.’
Gillis also proudly introduced Kelce to his father Phil, who shook the Kansas City Chiefs player’s hand and said: ‘It’s an honor to meet you.’
Saturday Night Live alumna Ego Nwodim, who was a cast member on the show for seven seasons from 2018 to 2025, retorted to Gillis with jokes of her own.
She fired up her Insta Stories and posted a mirror selfie at the gym with one arm raised, accompanied by the caption: ‘w**** reporting for duty.’
Her follow-up was a picture of what appeared to be a pulled pork eggs benedict, captioned: ‘getting my 30 grams of protein in after heuxing.’
Gillis made headlines in 2019 when he was hired to join the cast of Saturday Night Live, only to be fired over resurfaced podcast clips of his politically incorrect comic bits, including one in which he used the ethnic slur ‘ch**k.’
Inasmuch as Gillis was hired at the same time as Bowen Yang, the first Saturday Night Live cast member of Asian descent, the jokes pulled even further focus.
Saturday Night Live alumna Ego Nwodim issued a riposte to the controversial joke that Gillis made about women this past weekend
The first response Nwodim posted was a mirror selfie she snapped at the gym with one arm raised, accompanied by the caption: ‘w**** reporting for duty.’
Her follow-up was a picture of what appeared to be a pulled pork eggs benedict, captioned: ‘getting my 30 grams of protein in after heuxing’
Gillis issued a statement noting he is a ‘comedian who pushes boundaries,’ while offering ‘to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said.’
He was defended by legendary Saturday Night Live veteran Norm Macdonald, who himself had been fired from the show over his OJ Simpson material.
In 1997, an NBC executive who was friends with Simpson jettisoned Macdonald for repeatedly making fun of the ex-football player over his double murder trial.
Macdonald tweeted his sympathies to Gillis, writing that the younger comic’s firing was ‘Unacceptable’ and telling him: ‘Please DM me, pal, when you have a moment.’
In the ensuing years, Gillis rose back to showbiz success, and by 2023 he released a stand-up special that made the Netflix Top 10 in five countries.
Nwodim left Saturday Night Live last year after the 50th season, amid a cast exodus that included Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim.
Yang sensationally quit the long-running series in the middle of the 51st season, while Chloe Fineman left after that season concluded.