Shane Gillis and the problem of 'pushing boundaries'

There's nothing funny about reinforcing bigotry

Shane Gillis.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Screenshot/YouTube, Asni Maryani/iStock, Murata Yuki/iStock)

Saturday Night Live has fired one of its newest cast members before he even had a chance to film his first episode on the legendary television show. On Monday, SNL announced it was letting go Shane Gillis, a 31-year-old stand-up comedian, after racist and homophobic slurs Gillis had made in the past began circulating on the internet. A spokesperson for SNL called Gillis' remarks "offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable" and claimed NBC had been unaware of their existence when it hired Gillis.

In his own statement shortly after, Gillis accepted the show's decision before offering "to apologize to anyone who's actually offended by anything I've said." While that non-apology seems fairly routine these days, Gillis' example highlights the persistent problem of allowing offensiveness to pass as comedy, a habit with especially dark consequences in the age of Trump. And even though he lost his job, Gillis' hiring, however brief, also points to SNL's continual failure to adequately diversify its cast and the disastrous implications of not doing so.

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Neil J. Young

Neil J. Young is a historian and the author of We Gather Together: The Religious Right and the Problem of Interfaith Politics. He writes frequently on American politics, culture, and religion for publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, Vox, and Politico. He co-hosts the history podcast Past Present.