Kenan Thompson says Shane Gillis needs a good talking to

According to TheWrap, in an appearance at the Axios Media Trends Live summit in New York on Tuesday, Thompson, now in his 23rd season on the show, didn’t seem so much angry as disappointed in the guy once fired from the show for making overtly bigoted remarks on his podcast. “Yeah, I know Shane. And I don’t know him to be, you know, a mean person necessarily,” Thompson began, setting the bar low. “But, if he were to come back, I’m sure we would have a conversation of like, ‘How do you think that went?’ Like a little kid. I would just sit him down and be like, ‘So what do you think we could change there, pal?'” 

And while Thompson’s hard-earned wisdom seems to coddle the grown man who denigrated women on live TV for a laugh, the SNL vet’s patronizing tone does suggest at least some people at the show view Lorne Michaels’ continued booking of the reliably sub-par host and cultural lightning rod as a problem in need of addressing. 

Thomson continued by complaining that the ongoing discourse about Gillis’ crappy joke has distracted from the episode’s higher points, including the breakout of newly hired featured player Grace Reiter. “Everybody’s focusing in on this one specific word. Or one specific part of the monologue,” said Thompson, “And then, the rest of the monologue, or even the rest of the show, is getting overshadowed. Like, Grace, one of our newest cast members, had a phenomenal show. It’s sad, because nobody is even talking about it.” He also praised the episode’s musical guest, noting, “Even Rosalía is even kind of getting overshadowed, because we want to go back-and-forth on what’s offensive and what’s not.”

And if the ever-diplomatic Thompson is perhaps undervaluing the ugliness of Gillis’ “one word” in calling women “whores” because of how they choose to dress, he’s also overvaluing the rest of Gillis monologue, where the right-wing comic said he looked “like a lesbian” because he’s overweight and commented on how not to look “gay” when straightening his hair. Meanwhile, Gillis has yet to comment on the outrage he caused, which will no doubt continue to fuel his rise in the bro-comedy world that thinks his “women are whores” material is hilarious.