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Kenan Thompson weighed in on Shane Gillis' SNL monologue
Kenan Thompson says the controversy over Shane Gillis’ “SNL” monologue took attention away from the rest of the episode.
Speaking at Axios’ Media Trends Live summit in New York City this week, Saturday Night Live veteran Kenan Thompson was asked about Shane Gillis’ controversial October 10 monologue in which he joked about working out at a gym and said, “I didn’t know women just dressed like whores now.”
Kenan Thompson said Shane Gillis’ SNL monologue “overshadowed” the episode, and that he would want to talk with Gillis about the joke if he hosts again
“I know Shane, and I don’t know him to be a mean person, necessarily,” Thompson said. “But if he were to come back, I’m sure we would have a conversation of like, ‘How do you think that went?’ You know what I mean? And, ‘What do you think you could have done?’ Like a little kid, you know? I would just sit him down and be like, ‘So what do you think we could change there, pal?’”
Thompson also added that people are fixating on “one specific word or one specific part of the monologue.”
“Grace [Reiter], one of our newest cast members, had a phenomenal show, and it’s sad because nobody’s even talking about it,” Thompson said. “Even [musical guest] Rosalía is getting overshadowed because we want to go back and forth on what’s offensive and what’s not.”
It was Gillis’ third time hosting Saturday Night Live, having previously hosted the show on February 24, 2024, and March 1, 2025. Gillis was hired as an “SNL” cast member in 2019 but was fired days later, before he appeared on the show, over past remarks about Asian Americans on a podcast.
Next month, Gillis’ career will make another leap forward when he makes his feature film debut in David O. Russell’s Madden alongside Academy Award winners Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale.