New York, New York – Comedian Shane Gillis has sparked a firestorm online after controversial comments during his Saturday Night Live monologue were slammed as misogynistic.
As the latest host of the iconic comedy show, Gillis ranted live on TV over the weekend, “I haven’t been to the gym in so long – I didn’t realize women just dressed like whores now.”
“Look, I’m sorry there’s no other way to describe it. Have you seen it, I’ve seen it,” the 38-year-old continued.
“The shorts, have you seen the shorts?” he said, adding, And don’t look, you’re not allowed to look.”
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Gillis is known for his all‑over, often politically incorrect humor, but this joke clearly fell flat.
Critics online swiftly called out the monologue for its sexist nature, with many arguing that the joke wasn’t even funny to begin with. Still, some Gillis fans argued that it was a harmless jab.
But many other users pushed back, including several famous faces who argued that such comments contribute to a misogynistic society – one that often puts the blame on female survivors of sexual assault.
Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy was one of the loudest voices.
“Women wearing short shorts to the gym does not make them whores. It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there,” he said in an Instagram video.
“I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television,” the Emmy winner continued.
He called on other men to call out this kind of rhetoric, too, warning, “It’s complacency that has created the environment with which women are sexually assaulted, and it’s a conversation opposed to a crime.”
Levy’s post has amassed almost two million likes. In the comments, Hollywood stars such as Viola Davis, Elizabeth Banks, and Matt Bomer applauded him.
Former SNL cast member Ego Nwodim also took a pointed swipe at Gillis in an Instagram story shared late Monday.
“whore reporting for duty,” she wrote over a mirror snap that showed her rocking a workout set at the gym.
