USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Michael Che apparently didn’t think Shane Gillis’ controversial joke was a big deal.
Over the weekend, Gillis found himself in hot water when he joked about how women dress at the gym during his monologue.
“Going to the public gym as a fat guy, especially in New York, is a nightmare, dude. It’s just the hottest gay guys you’ve ever seen. They’re jacked, and they look at me like, ‘Yeah, right.’ I know, dude..”
“Also, I haven’t been to the gym in so long. I didn’t know women just dressed like wh-res now. “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?
Shane Gillis Explains What its like going to the gym in 2026 🤣🔥 #shanegillis #snl https://t.co/HrubWEd5gQ
— comiccomedyclub (@comiccomedyclub) October 11, 2026
Gillis has faced backlash over his joke and was openly criticized by fellow comedian Dan Levy.
“Women wearing short shorts to the gym does not make them whores,” Levy said in a statement on Instagram. “It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there.”
On Thursday, Che appeared on the “Today” for his new stand-up special, and was repeatedly asked about Gillis’ joke.
Despite seveal attempts to get him to condemn Gillis, Che just shrugged when he was continuedly asked about the joke by the host.
Via Today.com
“How are you thinking about what happened this week with Shane’s opening monologue?” Laura asked. “You’ve seen the pushback.”
“That’s comedy. It’s like, you think it’s funny and then some people don’t,” he replied.
“Did you laugh at what he said?” Laura Jarrett asked.
“I was at cue cards, actually, thinking about what I was going to say that was going to make people upset, so I didn’t even see it until, like, the next day,” he responded.
Asked for what he thought of the joke when he did see the monologue, Che said, “I didn’t think about it honestly.”
Shane Gillis’s joke gym shorts struck such a nerve with the feminist journalist class that now they’re pressing other SNL cast members to condemn it.
Watch this interviewer push Michael Che to take a stand over a joke. Insane! https://t.co/Jqx6UUlQ17
— Def Noodles (@defnoodlesreal) October 15, 2026