Shane Gillis is wildly successful. In July he drew nearly 74,000 people to Lincoln Financial Field, setting two Guinness World Records, as the finale of a 100-date tour that sold more than a million tickets. But for his third time hosting SNL, which came after the show fired him in 2019 over homophobic and racist comments on his podcast, he led with a deeply unfunny and nonsensical “joke” about women looking like “whores” at the gym.
Obviously, calling women whores for how they dress is completely misogynistic. It contributes to rape culture, objectifies women, and exemplifies why women feel unsafe in spaces like gyms. But it’s also unfunny. And worse than that, it’s tired.
Theory #1: Shane has been speaking out online about things he disagrees with, and actively trying to distance himself from Trump’s administration — despite the fact that he’s courted those audiences in his construction of the Manosphere. Did he choose to fall on his sword to satisfy his rabid audience of incels by sending a misogynistic dog whistle?
Theory #2: Everyone, including SNL, keeps trying to gauge where the line is with Woke 2.0. With Woke 1, online chatter was king — a few angry Instagram comments could lead to real life consequences, giving the illusion of “canceled.” Now, a decade removed from #MeToo, the entertainment industry is recalibrating the consequences of crossing societal lines, and what those lines even are.
Let’s review: Louis CK is back with a Hollywood Bowl set at Netflix Is a Joke Fest and a new special, Ridiculous, after a Grammy win and a world tour. Chris D’Elia is touring Europe and booking US club dates through December. Tony Hinchcliffe who was dropped by WME after the 2024 Trump rally set, has since released a Netflix special and sold out a two-night run at Dolby Live in Vegas. Essentially, the only comedian who has ever been canceled was Bill Cosby, and even he’s out of prison.
Anyway, if you’re going to toe that line and push a boundary to measure the audience reaction on a legendary stage like SNL, wouldn’t you come with some creativity? Why not really test an audience with something innovative and thought-provoking? Why return to a tired trope?
Of course, there’s always the possibility that Shane Gillis is simply a bad comic. White mediocrity and male audacity are both having their own moments, and I’ve written and/or posted about both at length (see below). After all, Bieber had one fifteen-minute rehearsal for his Grammys performance and Pete Davidson is calling influencers lazy while podcasting from his garage. So… why workshop the gym joke when your fans will buy tickets anyway?
Watch the monologue and tell me what you think:
Who does Pete Davidson think he is?
Pete Davidson recently made headlines after an interview with Variety’s “Ask A Local” series where he expressed his disdain for the influencer industry. Sure, we all have our grievances with being used for capital online via overconsumption and oversharing, but that’s not what Mr. Davidson is concerned about. His rant focused on women earning “$40 million,” which seemingly came from nowhere for doing what, to him, looks like “nothing.” Say what you want about influencers, but they are not doing nothing. I mean, they’re doing basically the same thing Pete Davidson does: making a name for themselves through something creative and connecting with people because of it. Influencers may “just” post their makeup, outfits and life struggles, but how is that different from what he does? He built a show out of his own family and struggles,
The Men of Pop Are Pissing Me Off Again
Between Justin Bieber returning from a three-plus-year hiatus with a *stripped* performance at The Grammys and Harry Styles rolling out an ungodly expensive “residency” at Madison Square Garden, I am fit to be tied over the disparity of work ethic between our male and female pop stars.
I had little to no idea who he was. Didn't know he'd hosted twice before.
Tell ya what. He's terrible.
Damn, Sophia Benoit has been on Twitter forever… how has she not lost her mind