The ousting of Shane Gillis from Saturday Night Live this week — over a history of racist, homophobic, and sexist remarks — has once again reignited the debate around cancel culture and the line between funny and offensive. Though the consensus on Twitter seems to be that Gillis more or less reaped what he sowed, some comics are coming forward to defend the Philly comedian, including a few former SNL cast members.
Perhaps the most outspoken so far has been Rob Schneider, who jumped on Twitter on Monday in the wake of the news of Gillis’ firing.
“As a former SNL cast member I am sorry that you had the misfortune of being a cast member during this era of cultural unforgiveness where comedic misfires are subject to the intolerable inquisition of those who never risked bombing on stage themselves,” he wrote, addressing Gillis.
Dear @Shanemgillis
As a former SNL cast member I am sorry that you had the misfortune of being a cast member during this era of cultural unforgiveness where comedic misfires are subject to the intolerable inquisition of those who never risked bombing on stage themselves.— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) September 16, 2019
Schneider also sparred with a few people who challenged him on his take, adding that he thought a suspension would have been a more fair punishment for Gillis. “An honest, sincere apology and also accepting it seems appropriate as well,” he wrote. “Destroying someone does not.”
If you had bothered to read it, you’d know I was mocking the pomposity of the people saying they wouldn’t work with Mel.
(Research before tweeting)— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) September 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/RobSchneider/status/1173817087808065536
Unfortunately, the problem is that Gillis did not issue an honest or sincere apology, which was rumored to have been the final straw for NBC.
I felt sad when i saw the clip. But I was even more sad that he went there and it wasn’t funny. Just an ugly conversation. He has the right to say it, cancel culture is wrong but people have the right to call racist things racist as well.
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) September 17, 2019
In his final thoughts on the subject, Schneider seemed to do an about-face. “It’s not okay to say racist things under the guise of comedy,” he admitted. “Just because you have a mic in your hand doesn’t make the racist things you say any less racist.”
https://twitter.com/RobSchneider/status/1173865424305307648
No stranger to controversy, former SNL cast member Norm Macdonald also weighed in on Monday, coming to the defense of Gillis. “Hey, Shane, I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine how you must feel,” Macdonald wrote. “The work it takes to get that show and to have it snatched away by some guy who does ‘Spoken Bird’ poetry. Unacceptable.” He also shared a tweet about Gillis’ firing adding that it “means war.”
@Shanemgillis Hey, Shane, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how you must feel. The work it takes to get that show and to have it snatched away by some guy who does "Spoken Bird" poetry. Unacceptable. Please DM me, pal, when you have a moment. I'm so sorry.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) September 16, 2019
of course you know, this means WAR. https://t.co/GMv8xNuvwx
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) September 17, 2019
Like Schneider, Macdonald also clapped back at a few of the individuals who challenged him:
Alice, I disagree with your hypothesis. First of all, being racist does not make you "relevant". Ironically, you are actually the irrelevant for believing precisely what your grandfather believed. Thhink about it, Alice. How does your white supremacy make you "stylish"? https://t.co/7SatZxTczX
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) September 17, 2019
Alice, honey, trust me. I'm a comedian and I listened to what he said. None of us consider it edgy at all, and Shane does not consider it edgy. It is only you, lady, who find it edgy. Now back to 1862 with you, where you can buy a slave, you racist. https://t.co/uu5q5LLyRR
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) September 17, 2019
David Spade also addressed the situation on his Comedy Central show on Monday night, initially declining to comment — instead tossing the topic over to his guests Bill Burr and Jim Jefferies. Both the outspoken Burr and Jefferies unsurprisingly took the side of Gillis, and eventually, Spade added a similar sentiment.
“I think when I was younger, on SNL, when you get hired, the first move wasn’t to rifle through your past to make sure you get fired right away,” he said. “Because people — the guy that won the Heisman — and then within an hour someone’s like, ‘Well I went back 15 years and guess what, he did something shitty.’ It’s like, yeah, we all do.”
Unfortunately, the problem that Spade and his colleagues seem to be missing is that this wasn’t 15 years ago. Gillis made the remarks just last year, and before that had been blacklisted from Philly comedy clubs over that same “shitty” behavior. It’s not to say that “cancel culture” isn’t worthy of a valid debate, but maybe this guy isn’t the hill to die on.
