On Saturday Shane Gillis made his belated SNL debut. Why belated? Because the first time the comic was supposed to appear he got fired, after people dug up a litany of racist and sexist jokes he’d made prior to scoring a cast member gig. Since then he’s become something of a big star — big enough, with his hit Netflix special, that he was asked to come back, this time as host. Sure enough, his opening monologue included some touchy stuff, so much so that one musician behind him appeared to be quietly fuming.
This Shane Gillis SNL reaction pic.twitter.com/j1qr4rz3C3
— DeadpoolWolverine (@secretinvasionn) February 25, 2024
Per Newsweek, some people on social media focused in on a young, red-haired guitarist who spent the majority of Gillis’ seven-minute soliloquy — during which he made gay jokes and jokes about down syndrome relatives — sitting still with a stony expression frozen on her face.
“Man, this woman in the SNL band is staring daggers at Shane Gillis throughout his entire monologue,” one person tweeted/Xed. “Just completely and thoroughly displeased.”
Man, this woman in the SNL band is staring daggers at Shane Gillis throughout his entire monologue. Just completely and thoroughly displeased. pic.twitter.com/j5r6oGmjnJ
— Adam Clements (@AClementsWKRC) February 25, 2024
Some thought that was a good sign that Gillis bombed.
Shane Gillis bombing horrendously on #SNL right now. You know it’s bad when the entire band behind him is absolutely stock-still
— Adam Cheek (@adamncheek) February 25, 2024
Some compared the evidently displeased musician to another person not enjoying a very different show.
The female SNL band member sitting behind Shane Gillis#ShaneGillis #SNL pic.twitter.com/OHoJqQTpWO
— CMSLA[G]LE (@cm_slagle) February 25, 2024
Throughout his monologue, Gillis mostly talked about his family, including his parents, who were in the audience. He talked about how as a kid he was like his mom’s “gay best friend.” He also discussed his niece, who was born with down syndrome, joking that he could have had it as well. “I dodged it, but it nicked me,” he told the crowd.
Gillis also teasingly addressed the elephant in the room. “I was fired from this show a while ago,” he said at the start of his monologue. “But, 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.
“I probably shouldn’t even be up here, honestly,” he joked.
Elsewhere in the episode Gillis starred in a fake trailer that dragged Trump but good for his ridiculous $400 gold sneakers.
You can watch Gillis’ monologue in the video below.
(Via Newsweek)
Source: https://uproxx.com/tv/snl-shane-gillis-monologue-musician-reaction/
