SNL fans are roasting that 'cringe' Shane Gillis monologue from last night's episode

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The former cast member returned to Studio 8H after being fired in 2019—here's what fans were saying on social media

Shane Gillis monologue, Shane Gillis hosting Saturday Night Live
(Image credit: NBCUniversal)

Last night's episode of Saturday Night Live was always going to be a tricky one to navigate. After a few weeks of wondering "When is the next episode of SNL?" the sketch-comedy show returned on February 24 with a brand-new episode, this one hosted by a controversial comedian: Shane Gillis. 

Once upon a time, the 36-year-old comic was actually a member of the SNL cast back in 2019—that it, until recordings of him using racist and homophobic language resurfaced online and he was fired a mere four days into his show tenure. However, Saturday Night Live having a history of courting contentious guest hosts, from Elon Musk to Donald Trump, Gillis was invited back to Studio 8H as a host this week, with musical guest 21 Savage. 

And for the most part, it was a largely forgettable episode of the program, save for that disastrous opening monologue. As is tradition when most stand-up comedians host the show, Gillis decided to forgo any song-and-dance numbers or high-production bits and instead chose to simply grab a mic and tell some jokes as his way of welcoming viewers in for this week's edition. 

He addressed his firing early on, joking: “Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was actually—I was fired from this show a while ago. But if, you know, don’t look that up, please, if you don’t know who I am. Please, don’t Google that. It’s fine. Don’t even worry about it.” However, despite seemingly wanting to quickly sidestep that scandal, Gillis then segued into his usual brand of politically incorrect comedy, including jokes about being gay and punchlines about his niece with Down syndrome. 

With only a smattering of laughs, the in-studio audience seemed very uneasy with Gillis' jokes—many fans noted that the band onstage behind the comic barely cracked a smile throughout the monologue—so much so that the host broke from his routine to acknowledge that his button-pushing humor wasn't made for NBC: “Look, I don’t have any material that can be on TV, all right? I’m trying my best. Also, this place is extremely well-lit. I can see everyone not enjoying it.” 

You can watch the "cringy" monologue for yourself with a Peacock subscription. 

SNL fans are roasting that Shane Gillis monologue

Along with that less-than-glowing reception from the studio audience, Saturday Night Live fans quickly took to social media with their own reactions to Shane Gillis' exceedingly "awkward" monologue:

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Christina Izzo
Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.