Taylor's Takes: SNL needs Gillis more than he needs them

Not much more can be said about the latest Shane Gillis controversy than has already been said.

Gillis hosted last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live. This was the third time Gillis has agreed to host the program he was unceremoniously fired from before he was able to make his debut that season in 2019.

Gillis’ comedic style can be described as mainstream as opposed to an acquired taste. He has wide appeal with the male demographic and comes across as blue-collar. His delivery can be sometimes crass, but is more often than not self-deprecating.

The joke that caused the latest wave throughout American culture ultimately poked fun at his inability to avert his gaze from attractive women at the gym who are wearing revealing, skin-tight, brightly colored clothing. Gillis said they “dress like whores” before delivering the punchline that he can probably be seen in the background of multiple TikTok videos, leering at the women who are filming themselves as they exercise.

The joke didn’t land well with the progressive New York City audience, though there was a small swell of laughter that could be heard.

"The joke didn’t land well with the progressive New York City audience, though there was a small swell of laughter that could be heard."

But as the joke became told second and third hand by women across the country, it evolved into Gillis calling them literal prostitutes for showing too much cleavage and leaving practically nothing to the imagination.

That, of course, was not the joke. He said they dressed like whores.

Nevertheless, the response from these women who only heard what they wanted to was to post videos of themselves dressed ever more provocatively while working out.

Wow. You got us, ladies. Men may never recover from seeing even more of your toned bodies covered with beads of sweat. Whatever will we do?

The larger problem here isn’t that women dress like whores at the gym. That’s a personal choice, and as long as the women aren’t breaking any dress codes, they are free to dress as whorish and promiscuously as they desire.

The looming issue is the broad inability of people who are unable to take a joke.

As much as stand-up comedy is on the rise as a form of entertainment, with more comedians than ever finding an audience, the pendulum has also swung the other way. As many people who are willing to sit through a raunchy set at Joe Rogan’s Comedy Mothership in Austin, Texas, there are many who are more prepared to take offense to what may be said.

And shows like Saturday Night Live, which was once the launching pad for so many comedic stars of yesteryear, are compounding the problem with their appeal to diversity and inclusion standards of 21st-century Western civilization.

Take a look at the cast of SNL. Gay representation? Check. Black representation? Check. “Body positive” female representation? Check.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with having a gay man, a black man, or a heavy-set female as part of the cast of SNL. But when that becomes part of the criteria for why those people are hired to perform, that becomes a problem.

The scourge of diversity requirements elevates those minority groups. Because they are labeled as minority groups and are hired because of that status, a sense of entitlement develops. And when that entitlement status is achieved, the trait that makes that person obviously unique becomes off-limits to ridicule for the sake of procuring laughter from an audience.

This special inclusion creates immunity.

Feminism has become one of those traits that apparently makes women and how they present themselves in public an “off-limits” topic, as was seen this past week.

The great irony here is that not only is what Shane Gillis said absolutely true, but the women who took offense only proved his point by posting themselves in skimpy outfits online.

I understand that Gillis had a life goal of being an SNL cast member, and was one for a brief amount of time. And I understand that he probably gets a feeling of superiority over the show whenever he agrees to host. He conquered what once tried to cancel him.

But Gillis is so much bigger than the washed-up show that once was a star-maker. He’s an arena performer now. He recently received two Guinness Book of World Records plaques for selling more tickets to a comedy show than any comedian in history.

Shane, you don’t need SNL anymore. They need you more than you need the exposure that they can offer. And that exposure is entirely to the wrong audience. They only want your fans’ viewership.

Don’t give it to them anymore.