Comedian Shane Gillis Gets Cold Shoulder From Some ‘SNL’ Cast & Crew Members After Jokes About Down Syndrome & Gay Men

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Shane Gillis returned to the show as a weekly host after being fired in 2019.

Gillis opened the show with his monologue where he joked about Down syndrome, the LGBTQ community and other sensitive subjects. Gillis was previously fired from SNL after he was found making racial and homophobic slurs on a podcast in 2018. Gillis apologized on X, known as Twitter at the time.

His return to SNL seemed to stir negative reactions from the current cast and crew. The band members, notably guitarist Maddie Rice, gave Gillis outraged looks during his monologue. Fans say Rice’s expression was of “rage.”

Viewers began posting to X about the situation.

“Man, this woman in the SNL band is staring daggers at Shane Gillis throughout his entire monologue. Just completely and thoroughly displeased,” one user posted.

Man, this woman in the SNL band is staring daggers at Shane Gillis throughout his entire monologue. Just completely and thoroughly displeased. pic.twitter.com/j5r6oGmjnJ

— Adam Clements (@AClementsWKRC) February 25, 2024

Rice’s reaction was met with a mix of criticism and humor with some users saying they shared the same feelings. Others felt Rice was overreacting.

Notably, Bowen Yang, an openly gay cast member, hugged Gillis during the closing credits.