Michael Che reacts to Shane Gillis’ divisive “SNL” monologue: ‘That’s comedy’

Shania RussellThu, October 15, 2026 at 3:59 PM UTC

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Michael Che; Shane GillisCredit: Will Heath/NBC via Getty; Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via GettyKey Points -

Michael Che is addressing Shane Gillis’ divisive Saturday Night Live monologue.

The latter comedian came under fire for saying that women at the gym are “dressed like whores” in a poorly-received joke from his monologue this past weekend.

Che insists that he wasn’t paying attention during the monologue, and hasn’t thought much about it — despite the backlash.

Michael Che is wading into the Shane Gillis discourse, whether he likes it or not.

Gillis, who was previously fired from Saturday Night Liveover his past usage of slurs, came under fire again this weekend for a monologue joke referring to women as “whores” for wearing short shorts at the gym. The quip wasn’t well received by viewers, sparking online outrage and inspiring many celebrities to speak out against the comedian, including Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy, Elizabeth Banks, and Martha Plimpton.

As for Che, the “Weekend Update” anchor has been clear about the fact that he isn’t interested in weighing in on the drama. Still, in a Tuesday instagram post, Che acknowledged that he will inevitably be asked about the Gillis controversy, as he continued promoting his new special, Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota.

“I gotta do more press this week to promote the special. Wonder what every f---ing question’s gonna be about,” Che wrote, adding an eye-rolling emoji. “Thanks a lot Shane.”

Indeed, Che’s nightmare came true during his Oct. 15 visit to Today, where he was directly asked about both the Instagram post and his reaction to Gillis’ joke.

Michael Che on ‘SNL’Credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC

“Oh no,” Che said when his Instagram post appeared on the screen. Correspondent Laura Jarrett then asked the comedian for his thoughts on all the backlash.

“That’s comedy,” Che said simply. “It’s like, you think it’s funny and some people don’t.”

As for whether or not he laughed at the joke, Che claimed he wasn’t paying attention when Gillis delivered the provocative punchline.

“I was at cue cards actually, thinking about what I was gonna say that was gonna make people upset,” Che said. “I didn’t even see it until the next day.”

Asked what he thought about the joke when he eventually saw the monologue, Che paused before replying, “I didn’t think about it honestly.”

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Che went on to confirm that while some writers see the opening monologue in advance of the show, it’s not always possible to keep track of every joke that the host plans to make.

“There’s so much going on. It’s really hard to see what everyone is doing, especially for me,” he said, joking, “I’m not what they call ‘good at my job,’ so I don’t pay attention to that.”

The conversation eventually turned to focus on Che’s bi-annual joke swap with Colin Jost, in which the punchlines are often racy, intense, and downright controversial.

Shane Gillis on ‘SNL’Credit: Will Heath/NBC via Getty

“That’s why I can’t criticize anybody for swinging and missing because I’ve definitely swung and missed too,” Che said. “I try to keep that heat off of me.”

During the Oct. 10 episode, Gillis complained about women wearing “those neon,” “artificial bait-colored” shorts where “the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole.”

He told the audience, “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dressed like whores now. Look, I’m sorry. There’s no other way to describe — have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts?”

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Critics called out the cringey moment while slamming the monologue overall, pointing to the crowd’s lukewarm reaction. To make matters worse, Gillis — who was hosting the show for the third time — later dropped an F-bomb during a Green Eggs and Ham sketch, prompting another awkward moment. He later apologized for the mistake during his closing remarks, telling the studio audience, “Sorry about earlier.”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for SNL and Gillis for comment about the monologue.

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