Comedian Shane Gillis faced growing online criticism following his hosting appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, where he accidentally uttered an expletive during a live sketch and drew sharp rebukes for jokes targeting women in his monologue.
Gillis, 38, returned to Studio 8H on Saturday night to host the sketch comedy program for the third time. While an unexpected curse on live television drew immediate attention, his opening stand-up set triggered an even wider wave of condemnation across social media platforms, The Independent reported.
An unscripted blunder in a live sketch
The on-air slip took place during a parody sketch based on the Dr. Seuss story “Green Eggs and Ham.” Gillis portrayed Zachary, a son defending his father, played by cast member Mikey Day, from the persistent food offers of Sam-I-Am, played by Andrew Dismukes.
During a heated exchange, Gillis stumbled over his lines, accidentally saying, “He said he doesn’t f–king geez like em,” the New York Post reported. The comedian visibly flinched and broke character as laughter erupted from the studio audience, later acknowledging the mistake mid-scene after Day ad-libbed that he had uttered “a bad word.”
The slip marked the first accidental expletive during a live sketch on the program since actor Sam Rockwell uttered one in 2018, according to Vulture. Singer Sabrina Carpenter previously cursed twice during a musical performance when hosting in October 2025, according to Entertainment Weekly via the New York Post. NBC did not censor the broadcast in real time, though the network removed the word from recordings published online.
Gillis addressed the mishap briefly during the episode’s closing moments alongside musical guest Rosalía, telling the audience, “sorry about earlier, thank you guys very much,” according to the New York Post.
Monologue comments draw criticism
Despite his closing apology, viewers quickly expressed anger that the host seemed to acknowledge only the curse word while ignoring crude material from his opening monologue. During the routine, Gillis commented on modern fitness attire, saying he had not visited a gym recently and did not realize women “just dressed like whores now,” which drew mixed gasps, groans and laughter from the live audience, The Independent reported.
The comedian went on to joke about tight athletic shorts and complained about being caught in the background of workout videos recorded for social media, Complex reported. In the same monologue, he referred to his siblings with a vulgar slur and compared his receding hairline to Adolf Hitler, jokes that were met with a subdued response from the crowd.
Online viewers sharply criticized the set, accusing the comedian of degrading women for their attire on a national broadcast, according to social media posts highlighted by The Independent.
History with NBC and next steps
The appearance marked another controversial chapter in Gillis’ unusual relationship with “Saturday Night Live.” NBC hired him as a featured cast member in September 2019, but the network dismissed him days later after recordings from his podcast revealed racist and homophobic slurs. Following his firing, Gillis developed a massive stand-up following and created the comedy series “Tires,” eventually returning as a guest host in 2024.
Representatives for Gillis did not immediately return requests for comment regarding the monologue backlash, and NBC has not publicly commented on whether the broadcast will face federal regulatory scrutiny over the live profanity.
