Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Cancel Culture

Saturday Night Live Fires New Cast Member Shane Gillis for Using Offensive Language

Comedy, meet cancel culture

Robby Soave | 9.16.2019 5:10 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Shane Gillis | Screenshot via Youtube
(Screenshot via Youtube)

Last week, Saturday Night Live announced that comedian Shane Gillis would be joining the cast. On Monday, the show reversed its decision.

"After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining 'S.N.L.,'" an NBC spokesperson said in a statement.

What happened? Twitter. Last Thursday, a journalist unearthed video footage of Gillis making offensive comments about Asian people during a comedy podcast. He also used homophobic language. In response, many on social media called for him to be fired.

Gillis offered a partial apology that was also a partial defense of his statements.

https://twitter.com/Shanemgillis/status/1172340437752807424

Needless to say, this did not satisfy the woke scolds, and thus NBC decided to end Gillis's Saturday Night Live career before it had even begun.

"We want 'S.N.L.' to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for 'S.N.L,'" said the NBC spokesperson. "We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."

There's no First Amendment right to appear on Saturday Night Live, and thus Gillis's termination is not properly a free speech issue. I haven't listened to a single second of Gillis's comedy, and have zero opinion on the matter of whether he is funny. But I do happen to agree with Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who told CNN on Sunday that he opposed Gillis's firing.

"I believe that our country has become excessively punitive and vindictive about remarks that people find offensive or racist and that we need to try and move beyond that, if we can," said Yang. "Particularly in a case where the person is—in this case—a comedian whose words should be taken in a slightly different light."

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Bernie Sanders' Housing Plan Calls for $2.5 Trillion in New Spending and Nationwide Rent Control

Robby Soave is a senior editor at Reason.

Cancel CultureComedySocial MediaFree SpeechTechnology
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (151)

Latest

RFK Jr. Denigrates Privately Funded Medical Research

Joe Lancaster | 5.28.2025 3:55 PM

Can Trump Yank Harvard's Remaining Federal Funding?

Emma Camp | 5.28.2025 3:30 PM

A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm

Jacob Sullum | 5.28.2025 3:15 PM

Elon Musk Is Right. The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Is a Bad Deal.

Eric Boehm | 5.28.2025 1:00 PM

Is Buying OnlyFans Content Now Illegal in Sweden?

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 5.28.2025 12:18 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!