Kenan Thompson weighed in on the controversy surrounding “Saturday Night Live” host Shane Gillis’ monologue, lamenting that the drama has “overshadowed” the episode’s positives.
During an appearance at the Axios Media Trends Live summit in New York City on Tuesday, Thompson, who is in his 23rd season on “SNL” and is the show’s longest-tenured cast member, addressed the backlash Gillis faced for joking in his monologue that women at the gym “just dress like whores now.”
“Yeah, I know Shane. And I don’t know him to be, you know, a mean person necessarily,” Thompson said. “But, if he were to come back [to the show], I’m sure we would have a conversation of like, ‘How do you think that went?’ Like a little kid. I would just sit him down and be like, ‘So what do you think we could change there, pal?’ And just figure it out.”
As Thompson went on, he said it was “just finding the balance” of “allowing creative liberties” and being mindful of “harmful words.” However, Thompson appeared to indicate that he felt the public was spending more time focusing on Gillis’ word choice instead of on actual episode highlights.
“Everybody’s focusing in on this one specific word. Or one specific part of the monologue,” he said. “And then, the rest of the monologue, or even the rest of the show, is getting overshadowed. Like, Grace [Reiter], one of our newest cast members, had a phenomenal show. It’s sad, because nobody is even talking about it.”
He added: “Even Rosalía is even kind of getting overshadowed, because we want to go back-and-forth on what’s offensive and what’s not.”
On whether Gillis would be welcomed back at “SNL” to host again, Thompson said he couldn’t speak to that, noting, “That’s not my decision. But, if he were to come back, yeah, I think we’d have to have some sort of real chat where people’s actions don’t … wave pool the rest of us.”
Watch Thompson’s comments below.
If Shane Gillis were to come back to SNL, “I’m sure we would have a conversation … like a little kid” about what he could have done differently, @nbcsnl cast member @KenanThompson tells @sarafischer at #MediaTrendsLive. pic.twitter.com/Y6wFcpC9dH
— Axios (@axios) October 20, 2026
Thompson’s commentary on the situation comes over a week after Gillis sparked controversy with his monologue, prompting widespread criticism for his remarks about women’s gym attire.
For example, “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator and star Dan Levy called out the comedian for his monologue, revealing to his followers that it left him “speechless.”
“Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them whores,” Levy said in an Instagram video. “It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there.”
Other celebrities soon followed suit with their own criticism, including “SNL” alum Ego Nwodim. Though, not everyone condemned Gillis for the quip, as “SNL” legend Dana Carvey declared he “didn’t understand the kerfuffle” over the monologue.
“I just didn’t understand the kerfuffle — only because to me, I just saw it as what we call, I’ll just say it, a joke! When you say jokes, you’re not literally saying ‘women are whores,’ you are literally joking,” Carvey said on the latest episode of his “Fly on the Wall” podcast. “Isn’t that kind of the idea? No? Did I just get canceled?”
Gillis has yet to directly address the controversy.
The post Kenan Thompson Bemoans Shane Gillis’ Controversial ‘SNL’ Monologue Overshadowing the Episode’s Positives appeared first on TheWrap.
