After Shane Gillis stumbled through his controversial, sweaty, awkward SNL monologue, many hoped this would be the end of the entertainment industry giving him a major platform. However, now Netflix has followed up with an even bigger opportunity for Gillis.
SNL‘s decision to invite the comedian to host an episode received high criticism, considering just several years earlier, the show had fired him after his homophobic, racist, and sexist comments resurfaced.
Gillis was hired as a cast member on the sketch comedy show in 2019. He held the position for just four days before past offensive remarks he made resurfaced and SNL quickly parted ways with him. Across multiple episodes of his podcast with Matt McCusker, Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, Gillis used racist and anti-LGBTQ slurs, made derogatory comments about Asians, and mocked other comedians based on their gender, sexual orientation, and race.
He never actually apologized for what he said, and there’s little evidence he has tried to change since then. In fact, he has been embracing his conservative following by appearing multiple times on The Joe Rogan Experience and hosting Holocaust deniers on his own podcast.
While on SNL, he returned to his cringe-inducing “edgy” comedy, making Down syndrome and gay jokes that were met with awkward silence. His hosting is being compared to Jo Koy’s Golden Globes monologue, showing just how badly he bombed. While many were upset with SNL giving Gillis a platform, it was largely what viewers had come to expect, considering the show has platformed both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump in the past.
However, now Netflix has decided to jump on the Shane Gillis train.
When will this Shane Gillis “comeback” end?
Just days after Gillis made his SNL return, he struck a handsome deal with Netflix. The two have collaborated in the past, with the major streamer releasing one of Gillis’ comedy specials after his SNL firing. Now, Netflix is doubling down on supporting the controversial comedian as it picked up Gillis’ first scripted series, Tires. The six-episode series already has a release date of May 23. As if that weren’t enough, Netflix has also ordered another stand-up comedy special from Gillis and has signed him up for two live performances during the Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival.
Of course, the major question here is why? Why is this Gillis comeback even happening? Granted, he never really went away in the first place. However, aside from one Netflix comedy special, he largely stuck to his podcasts with his obscure conspiracy theorists pals instead of running with the big leagues in Hollywood. Sure, conservatives who remembered his SNL firing idolized him, but there wasn’t much danger of his fanbase growing bigger. Now, he has an SNL hosting gig under his belt, his own Netflix show, and a collaboration with one of the biggest streamers in the world for the foreseeable future.
There have been questions about why the industry has suddenly decided Gillis is “okay” now after getting fired years earlier. Nothing has changed. The industry just decided one day that controversy gets views, and the attention Gillis gets is more important than denying bigots a platform. His comeback suggests that anyone, regardless of what hateful and ignorant rhetoric they spew, just has to wait a few years and will make their way back into the spotlight with ease. How many more people will be inspired to put their racism and homophobia out into the world, confident that they won’t ever actually face consequences for it?
Meanwhile, Gillis’ controversies aren’t over. Media outlets are still uncovering even worse past remarks than the ones that got him fired, as well as his collaborations with conspiracy theorists Bill McCusker and Andrew Pacella. Gillis is the one who kickstarted McCusker’s and Pacella’s fame by hosting them on his podcast, thus allowing them to start their own podcast, War Mode. In this podcast, they have embraced Pizzagate and the theories that the Holocaust and the Sandy Hook massacre never happened. Now, all of the hateful rhetoric Gillis has said in the past and these terrible conspiracy theorists are getting new listeners and followers as Gillis’ name re-enters public discourse.
Gillis isn’t some guy who got wrongfully canceled due to some small mistake that can be waved away. He holds and is connected to very dangerous views that now have been given a platform alongside him. Gillis was fired from SNL for a reason, and it’s very difficult to watch that singular consequence of his actions being undone by major players in Hollywood.
(featured image: Ethan Miller / Getty)
