Some people have always considered comedians to be the modern court jesters, implying that they’re the only people allowed to speak truth to power because their message is couched in humor. This is true of pseudo-philosophy bros stuck in their early twenties who think George Carlin was the most profound man of all time, as well as terminally online kids who spend their time watching edgy comics on YouTube and TikTok and think their jokes are eternal truths instead of hacky rehashes of old content. It’s this kind of social milieu, and the very male-dominated, insular world of standup that allows marginally funny folk like Shane Gillis to have a career.
The American comedian was set to end up on SNL (which, despite being mostly dross, is considered the peak of the genre in the U.S.), but after old videos resurfaced of him throwing around bigoted slurs, his ascension up Lorne Michaels’ beanpole was halted. But who is Gillis? And what did he actually say that got him canceled? Further to that, has he even been canceled, or is he pulling the now-common culture war trick of claiming that he’s being censored when, in reality, people just don’t like him that much? Read more to find out.
Who is Shane Gillis?
Gillis was born in a small town in Pennsylvania and grew up playing football. He went to the famous West Point Military Academy but soon quit for another university, where he also played football. Whether or not all those knocks to the head affected his brain is yet to be confirmed, but given what we know about the long-term effects of brain damage caused by childhood sports careers, it seems likely. After briefly teaching English in Spain, he began his comedy career in 2012, becoming a regular at local comedy clubs in Harrisburg and Lancaster, both in Pennsylvania. Seeking to further his career, he eventually moved to Philadelphia.
From there, his name recognition grew, and he placed third in a high-profile comedy event in the city of brotherly love. The next year, he ended up winning it. Like most comedians nowadays, he also began a podcast in 2016, entitled Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast. He co-hosted it with fellow comedian and writer Matt McCusker. This led to more podcast appearances, including regular guest spots on The Bonfire, as well as a new weekly show on Compound Media, which was called A Fair One with Tommy Pope. All the while, his social media presence was growing, and his touring schedule getting heavier.
Gillis got his real big break in 2019, when he performed at Comedy Central‘s Clusterfest, and was also given recognition as a “new face” at the famous and influential Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.
Gillis tends to lean conservative and is one of the few right-wing comedians who had garnered fans from all ends of the political spectrum, especially as his comedy didn’t usually focus on politics in such a divisive way, with Donald Trump even being the butt of a few of his jokes (which, in the current American conservative movement, is akin to murdering children in cold blood without using a gun). With that said, his jokes have in the past leaned heavily on bored old stereotypes and regressive, bigoted humor, especially when it comes to Asians, Muslims, and folks with disabilities.
Why did Shane Gillis get “canceled?”
After rising through the male-dominated and insular world of American stand-up comedy, Gillis was offered a job as a cast member of Saturday Night Live on September 12, 2019. Network execs have confirmed this was specifically to target a more right-leaning demographic than the show usually received. The notion of actually making funny sketches to attract a wider audience doesn’t seem to have been mentioned.
The day that Gillis was announced, an avalanche of clips came out from his podcast with McCusker, in which he used enough ethnic, homophobic, abelist, and sexist slurs to make David Duke blush. This was just the tip of the iceberg, though, with plenty more horrific content coming to light as more outlets covered the stories.
In a now classic move from comedians who get called out for repeating lazy stereotypes, Gillis posted a tweet in response to the slew of evidence about his bigotry, claiming that he was “a comedian who pushes boundaries,” adding, “If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses. I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said.” Nonetheless, he was removed from the SNL cast four days later, before he’d even had a chance to make it to New York.
While it’s easy to make fun of Gillis for following a predictable playbook, the comedian at least had the self-awareness to apologize for his tweet, saying that he immediately regretted the “boundaries” statement. He claimed that he had to react quickly and felt he was being overly defensive, and even went as far as to retract what he’d said. So, at least he has some notion of shame, which is more than can be said for a lot of comedians and famous faces who find themselves in his situation.
What is Shane Gillis doing now?
Like practically every single man who’s been allegedly canceled over the past decade (with the exceptions of Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, who both literally had to rape dozens of women to face consequences for their actions, and still have plenty of defenders), Gillis is still doing remarkably well for himself. This isn’t a surprise, given Louis C.K. won a Grammy after admitting to subjecting women to hearing him masturbate without their consent, and Dave Chappelle earned millions for Netflix specials despite being so transphobic, it makes J.K. Rowling seem level-headed.
In January 2020, Gillis won stand-up of the year at The Interrobang’s 6th Annual Comedy Awards, and later that year, he launched a new web series with fellow comedian John McKeever. In 2021, he released a live comedy special, Shane Gillis: Live in Austin, on YouTube, where it racked up views and was given critical acclaim by industry publications and websites.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a story about a canceled comedian without a mention of everyone’s favorite conspiracy theorist Joe Rogan (who, like Gillis, spent much of his life being hit in the head). In 2021, Gillis was on a number of episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. This September, despite being “canceled” and “censored,” he released a Netflix special. The show has caused controversy in Australia after the country was the target of an ill-informed joke, although in the grand scheme of horrid things Gillis has said (and Australia’s atrocious record on indigenous rights and migrant welfare), we’re willing to let this one slide a little more.