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‘I was fired from this show’
Almost-cast member Shane Gillis hosted SNL last night with musical guest 21 Savage.
Stand-up comedian and podcast host Shane Gillis made his “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut last night, but he wasn’t promoting an upcoming blockbuster. He was famously fired almost immediately after being hired as an SNL cast member in 2019.
“I was fired from this show a while ago,” he said in his monologue. “But don’t look that up, please.” (He was let go after videos resurfaced online of him using homophobic and racial slurs.)
The controversial figure showed off his range in live comedy that differs from his day job as co-host of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, the most subscribed-to podcast on Patreon, which he hosts with comedian Matt McCusker. He’s also known for the Gilly and Keeves sketch comedy series on YouTube, and he’s about to head out on tour on March 1 starting in New York.
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Gillis was joined by musical guest 21 Savage, a British-American rapper who just released his third studio album, “American Dream,” last month. The musician won a Grammy for his 2020 song “A Lot,” and is nominated for several more this year.
Cold Open
A group of Republican senators — James Risch (Mikey Day), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez), Lindsey Graham (James Austin Johnson), and Tim Scott (Devon Walker) — discuss Trump in a dim D.C. lounge. They love the guy, they say. And then they cautiously admit their disdain for him — for both personal reasons (“Trump gave you the name ‘Little Marco,’ right?”) and political ones. Yet, they’re all still endorsing him. A cold open that was real political satire, this one was almost too dark and realistic to get huge audience laughs.
Monologue
Gillis addressed the elephant in the room right away in his monologue, admitting he was let go from the show a few years ago.
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“If you don’t know who I am, please don’t Google that. It’s fine. Don’t even worry about that.”
In the rest of his eight-minute monologue, he joked about how he was built to be a high school football coach, shouted out his parents who are in attendance, and talked about his niece with Downs syndrome. He was visibly nervous, but owned it. “Look, I don’t have any material that can be on TV. I’m trying my best,” he laughed. “This is the most nervous I’ve ever been!”
Church on Vacation
A family from Ohio goes to church on Sunday while on vacation in Jamaica. “I don’t care where we are on Sunday, we go to church,” says the dad (Gillis). But this service is a little different than what they’re used to. Ego Nwodim gives a fantastic performance as Father Lawrence, who has to hurry up and deliver the word so he can get back to his curry that’s cooking at home.
HR Meeting
Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman are holding a workplace meeting, where relationships come up. Gillis can’t understand how asking out coworkers works. He wants to take Carly’s “yes” and apply it to Laurel’s “no,” and since you can only ask out a coworker one time. He also buys co-worker Clark’s asks, since he’s gay. Hernandez wants to know if booty khakis are OK.
Trump Sneakers
In this fake trailer for “another magical sneaker movie for white people,” a struggling man gets a new outlook on life with a pair of sneakers gifted to him by Donald Trump. The sneakers don’t make him better at anything — they just teach him that “winning is a state of mind.” Gillis does a great Trump impression, and James Austin Johnson even makes an appearance with his Trump, too.
The Floor
In this game show hosted by Rob Lowe (Michael Longfellow), contestants must identify as many photos as they can. In the drinks round, Gillis wins — his wife is pregnant so he’s drinking for two, and Bowen Yang freezes up when the clock starts ticking. But in the historical figures round, Gillis is too nervous to identify Black Americans on TV because he doesn’t want to get them wrong.
21 Savage
The rapper performed “Redrum,” complete with ballet dancers and a violinist, and “Should’ve Wore a Bonnet,” with guests Brent Faiyaz and Summer Walker, both, off his most recent album, “American Dream.”
Weekend Update
Hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost joke about some of the past week’s top stories, like the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos are children, Trump’s limited edition $400 sneakers, and Red Lobster’s annual lobster fest. Bowen Yang came on as Truman Capote to discuss his favorite women throughout history, and Marcello Hernandez was a frozen embryo from Alabama.
Gump
At the Greenbow High 20-year reunion, former popular kid Ricky Monroe (Gillis) runs into his old classmate, Forrest Gump (Day). He has no idea about any of Gump’s famous accomplishments. “So you seriously haven’t heard about any of his adventures?” asks Andrew Dismukes. But Monroe has had adventures of his own. “One night at my club, I did cocaine with Danny DeVito.”
Fugliana
Gillis does a commercial for “Fugliana,” a sex doll that isn’t out of his league. Fugliana (Sarah Sherman) is the average-looking sex doll for below-average men. “My old sex doll was much hotter than me, and I’d get nervous and couldn’t perform,” says Gillis.
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