Five days. That’s how long Shane Gillis was officially a cast member of Saturday Night Live back in 2019. It’s a record, though probably not the kind anyone wants to hold. Before he even stepped foot in 30 Rock for a table read, he was out. Why? Because of a resurfaced podcast clip—what many now simply call the shane gillis cancelled video.
Honestly, the whole thing felt like a fever dream at the time. One minute he’s the "new guy" alongside Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman, and the next, Twitter is on fire. A clip from 2018 surfaced from Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast where Gillis used a racial slur for Chinese people while riffing about Chinatown. It wasn't just a "bad joke"; for NBC executives, it was a PR nightmare they hadn't vetted for.
The Video That Cost Him the Job
If you actually look for the shane gillis cancelled video, you’re mostly looking at a snippet of Ep. 136 of his podcast. In the clip, Gillis and his co-host Matt McCusker are talking about the architecture and food in Chinatown. Gillis used the slur "chink" and mocked Asian accents. It wasn't a hidden tape; it was on their YouTube channel.
The backlash was instant.
The timing couldn't have been worse. SNL had just hired Bowen Yang, the show's first ever Chinese-American cast member. You’ve got to imagine the atmosphere in that office. Lorne Michaels later admitted in a 2024 interview with the Wall Street Journal that he actually wanted to keep Shane. He saw the talent. But the "higher-ups" at NBC—the ones who worry about sponsors and shareholders—made the final call to cut him loose.
What was actually said?
- Gillis referred to the neighborhood's residents using a slur.
- He joked about "nooders" and mocked the way people spoke.
- Other clips surfaced where he used homophobic slurs to describe "white faggot comics" like Judd Apatow and Chris Gethard.
Gillis tried to get ahead of it with a tweet. He called himself a "comedian who pushes boundaries" and said if you go through ten years of comedy, you’ll find some "bad misses." People hated that. They called it a "non-apology." He later admitted that the "pushing boundaries" line was corny and something he wrote in five minutes under intense pressure.
The Long Road Back to 30 Rock
Most people who get "cancelled" like that just sort of... vanish. They do the apology tour, they disappear for a year, and then they maybe show up in a low-budget indie movie. Shane did the opposite. He went back to the basement.
He leaned into the "Secret Podcast" and built a massive, loyal following that didn't care about the NBC drama. Then, he did something risky: he bet on himself. He self-funded a stand-up special, Live in Austin, and put it on YouTube for free in 2021. It currently has over 30 million views. That’s when the tide started to turn.
You can’t really ignore someone who is selling out arenas without a network behind them. By the time 2024 rolled around, the shane gillis cancelled video was still a talking point, but it was overshadowed by his success. Netflix picked up his special Beautiful Dogs and his sitcom Tires.
The Hosting Return
On February 24, 2024, the unthinkable happened. Shane Gillis returned to host SNL.
His monologue was awkward. You could feel the tension through the screen. He even joked about it, saying, "Please don't Google me. It's fine." He looked visibly nervous—sweating, pacing, and acknowledging that he didn't have much material that was "TV safe." Some critics thought he bombed. Others thought it was a victory lap. Either way, he came back as the boss of the episode he was once fired from. He even hosted again in March 2025, proving the "cancellation" had officially expired in the eyes of the industry.
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Why the Video Still Matters Today
People still search for the shane gillis cancelled video because it represents a specific moment in the "culture wars." It's a case study. On one side, you have the argument that certain language is inherently disqualifying for a major platform like NBC. On the other, you have the "comedy is subjective" crowd who argues that intent and context (like a private podcast riff) matter more than the words themselves.
Gillis himself has been pretty candid about it recently. He doesn't act like a victim, but he doesn't exactly grovel either. On The Joe Rogan Experience, he basically said he understood why they had to fire him—he was a liability.
Actionable Takeaways for Navigating Modern Content
If you're a creator or just someone following this saga, there are a few real-world lessons to pull from the Shane Gillis situation:
- Digital Footprints are Permanent: Anything on a podcast, even a "secret" one, is public record the moment it hits the RSS feed. If you're aiming for corporate success, the "edgy" stuff from five years ago will be found.
- Direct-to-Consumer is the Ultimate Shield: The reason Shane survived wasn't because people forgot the video; it's because he owned his distribution. If you have 10,000 people willing to pay $5 a month on Patreon, a network firing you is just a Tuesday.
- The "Apology" Meta has Changed: The traditional corporate apology often makes things worse because it feels insincere. Gillis’s approach—admitting he "missed" but staying true to his comedic voice—eventually won back his audience.
- Vetting is Real: If you’re hiring talent in 2026, you can’t just look at their resume. You have to look at their 2018 podcast archives. SNL's failure to do that is what created the mess in the first place.
Whether you think he’s a genius or a guy who got lucky, the shane gillis cancelled video changed the way the industry looks at "problematic" talent. It proved that in the internet age, a gatekeeper’s "no" isn't always the end of the story. Sometimes, it's just the beginning of a much bigger, much weirder career.