Saturday Night Live star Michael Che was put in an uncomfortable position when he was asked about Shane Gillis’ controversial monologue from the previous weekend.
During his latest stint as guest host of the NBC sketch series, Gillis, 38, delivered a joke claiming that women at gyms now “just dress like w****s.”
As the joke triggered a fierce backlash online, Che, 43, took to Instagram to say he still needed to promote his upcoming stand-up special. “wonder what every f***ing questions gonna be about. thanks a lot shane,” he wrote.
That social media post was raised by anchor Laura Jarrett during an interview with Che on Thursday morning’s Today show.
“Oh, no,” Che groaned before addressing the reaction to Gillis’ routine. “That’s comedy. You think it’s funny and then some people don’t.”
Asked whether he had laughed at Gillis’ performance, Che sidestepped the question. He said he had been “at cue cards, actually, thinking about what I was gonna say that was gonna make people upset,” adding that he did not watch the monologue until the following day.
Saturday Night Live star Michael Che was placed in an awkward position while answering questions about Shane Gillis’ controversial monologue; Che is pictured on the show
During his latest appearance as guest host of the NBC sketch show, 38-year-old Gillis joked that female gymgoers “just dress like w****s now”
When Jarrett asked what he thought after eventually hearing the joke, Che paused for a long moment before responding that he “didn’t think about it honestly.”
Jarrett noted that the show’s writers get to see the opening monologue in advance, but Che again declined to offer a clear opinion.
“If you’re not working,” said the Manhattan-born comedian. He explained that there is so much happening backstage that it can be difficult to follow what everyone else is doing, particularly for him. “I’m not what they call ‘good at my job,’ so I don’t pay attention to all that.”
Later in the interview, Che added: “I can’t criticize anybody for swinging and missing ’cause I’ve definitely swung and missed too. I try to keep that heat off of it.”
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Che and Gillis for comment.
Gillis’ latest Saturday Night Live appearance drew the largest live audience of his three hosting appearances. Nielsen figures licensed by Late Nighter show that an average of 4.4 million people watched the episode.
In the monologue, Gillis poked fun at himself for “going to the public gym as a fat guy” while surrounded by “the hottest gay guys you’ve ever seen.” He then said: “Also, I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like w****s now.”
Smiling, he continued: “Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe – have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts? Have you seen the shorts?”
Gillis drew laughs as he described the workout clothes as “neon” and “artificial bait-colored,” claiming the material had wrinkles that “go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole.”
He added: “And don’t look. You’re not allowed to look. For real, don’t look, because they are filming. I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now.”
The monologue sparked a social media storm, with Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy strongly criticizing Gillis in an Instagram video
As criticism of the monologue spread across social media, Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy vocally denounced Gillis in an Instagram video.
‘Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them w****s. It makes the men calling them w****s misogynists. There’s a difference there,’ said Levy.
‘By the way, I’ve seen more men’s nipples at the gym than I’ve ever seen women showing their bodies off,’ observed the son of SCTV icon Eugene Levy.
‘But I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television. And to be perfectly honest, more men need to be standing up in opposition to this, because it’s complacency that has created the environment with which women are sexually assaulted and it’s a “conversation” as opposed to a crime.’
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NFL star Travis Kelce was then drawn into the scandal when he liked the video of Gillis’ monologue on Saturday Night Live’s official Instagram page.
He quickly drew howls of condemnation on X, where one user branded him ‘a d*****bag frat bro’ and another called him a ‘disgusting man.’
Even his new wife Taylor Swift was unable to avoid the blowback entirely, with one observer demanding on Reddit: ‘Taylor, is this your king?? Come get your man girl.’
Swift and Kelce exchanged vows at a 1,000-guest ceremony at Madison Square Garden officiated by Adam Sandler, whose 2025 movie Happy Gilmore 2 had featured a shirtless cameo by the football heartthrob.
Social media exploded with outrage at Travis Kelce after the NFL star liked a post of Gillis’ Saturday Night Live monologue; Kelce pictured with Taylor Swift last year
This June, Gillis was a celebrity guest at Kelce’s annual Tight End University training camp, as seen in a video for the sports comedy page JokeWRLD.
Kelce was shown greeting Gillis with a warm hug, after voiceover narration referred to the comedian and the football player as ‘friends.’
Gillis also proudly introduced Kelce to his father Phil, who shook the Kansas City Chiefs player’s hand and said: ‘It’s an honor to meet you.’
Saturday Night Live alumna Ego Nwodim, who was a cast member on the show for seven seasons from 2018 to 2025, retorted to Gillis with jokes of her own.
She fired up her Insta Stories and posted a mirror selfie at the gym with one arm raised, accompanied by the caption: ‘w**** reporting for duty.’
Her follow-up was a picture of what appeared to be a pulled pork eggs benedict, captioned: ‘getting my 30 grams of protein in after heuxing.’
Gillis made headlines in 2019 when he was hired to join the cast of Saturday Night Live, only to be fired over resurfaced podcast clips of his politically incorrect comic bits, including one in which he used the ethnic slur ‘ch**k.’
Inasmuch as Gillis was hired at the same time as Bowen Yang, the first Saturday Night Live cast member of Asian descent, the jokes pulled even further focus.
Saturday Night Live alumna Ego Nwodim issued a riposte to the controversial joke that Gillis made about women this past weekend
The first response Nwodim posted was a mirror selfie she snapped at the gym with one arm raised, accompanied by the caption: ‘w**** reporting for duty.’
Her follow-up was a picture of what appeared to be a pulled pork eggs benedict, captioned: ‘getting my 30 grams of protein in after heuxing’
Gillis issued a statement noting he is a ‘comedian who pushes boundaries,’ while offering ‘to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said.’
He was defended by legendary Saturday Night Live veteran Norm Macdonald, who himself had been fired from the show over his OJ Simpson material.
In 1997, an NBC executive who was friends with Simpson jettisoned Macdonald for repeatedly making fun of the ex-football player over his double murder trial.
Macdonald tweeted his sympathies to Gillis, writing that the younger comic’s firing was ‘Unacceptable’ and telling him: ‘Please DM me, pal, when you have a moment.’
In the ensuing years, Gillis rose back to showbiz success, and by 2023 he released a stand-up special that made the Netflix Top 10 in five countries.
Nwodim left Saturday Night Live last year after the 50th season, amid a cast exodus that included Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim.
Yang sensationally quit the long-running series in the middle of the 51st season, while Chloe Fineman left after that season concluded.
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