It's only been a week since Shane Gillis was hired then fired by Saturday Night Live, and he made his first stand-up appearance since the controversy last night (September 18).
As expected, most of his material was about the past seven days — which started with his hiring, then the uncovering of racist and homophobic comments made on his podcast last year, then being let go by SNL.
Performing at the Stand in New York City last night, Gillis used his 11 minutes to address the controversy, while wearing a Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast hoodie. As Variety reports, he said:
Everybody's been like, you can't say shit and not expect consequences. I'm fine with the consequences. I'm not arguing. Fuck it. But I do want everyone to know that I've been reading every one of my death threats in an Asian accent.
Gillis also addressed his upbringing in Philadelphia, giving the audience insight into the kind of family he was raised in and the environment he now exists in:
I don't know if you can tell, I'm white trash. I'm from a shit hole and then I moved to the city and now all my friends are woke. They're from Brooklyn. But I still have uncles. They have the internet, so I'll get online and the first status will be someone from back home like, 'Fucking Colin Kaepernick better stand up. Like this status if you love the troops and God. Share it if you're not gay.' Next status is one of my new woke friends like, 'I'm not racist.'
He also tried to defend his racist comments from his podcast, which largely targeted Chinese people:
It's funny to hear so many people these days be like, 'I'm not racist.' Are you sure? Being racist isn't a yes or no thing. It's not like you have it or you don't have it. Being racist is like being hungry. You're not right now but a cheeseburger could cut you off in traffic and you could get hungry real quick. You didn't even know you were hungry for that type of cheeseburger. The cheeseburger's not Asian in that joke.
Gillis previously responded to his firing with a message on Twitter, saying, "I was always a Mad TV guy anyway."
Since his firing, a number of prominent SNL alumni like Rob Schneider and Norm Macdonald have spoken out in his defence, while actors like Sandra Oh and Simu Liu have praised the show's decision.
As expected, most of his material was about the past seven days — which started with his hiring, then the uncovering of racist and homophobic comments made on his podcast last year, then being let go by SNL.
Performing at the Stand in New York City last night, Gillis used his 11 minutes to address the controversy, while wearing a Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast hoodie. As Variety reports, he said:
Everybody's been like, you can't say shit and not expect consequences. I'm fine with the consequences. I'm not arguing. Fuck it. But I do want everyone to know that I've been reading every one of my death threats in an Asian accent.
Gillis also addressed his upbringing in Philadelphia, giving the audience insight into the kind of family he was raised in and the environment he now exists in:
I don't know if you can tell, I'm white trash. I'm from a shit hole and then I moved to the city and now all my friends are woke. They're from Brooklyn. But I still have uncles. They have the internet, so I'll get online and the first status will be someone from back home like, 'Fucking Colin Kaepernick better stand up. Like this status if you love the troops and God. Share it if you're not gay.' Next status is one of my new woke friends like, 'I'm not racist.'
He also tried to defend his racist comments from his podcast, which largely targeted Chinese people:
It's funny to hear so many people these days be like, 'I'm not racist.' Are you sure? Being racist isn't a yes or no thing. It's not like you have it or you don't have it. Being racist is like being hungry. You're not right now but a cheeseburger could cut you off in traffic and you could get hungry real quick. You didn't even know you were hungry for that type of cheeseburger. The cheeseburger's not Asian in that joke.
Gillis previously responded to his firing with a message on Twitter, saying, "I was always a Mad TV guy anyway."
Since his firing, a number of prominent SNL alumni like Rob Schneider and Norm Macdonald have spoken out in his defence, while actors like Sandra Oh and Simu Liu have praised the show's decision.