Saturday Night Live: Shane Gillis Jokes About SNL Firing in Monologue, "I Shouldn't Be Here"

Years after being fired from Saturday Night Live before appearing in a single episode, Shane Gillis finally made his debut at 30 Rock. Though he didn't do so as a cast member of the live sketch comedy, the controversial comedian served as host for the February 24th edition, his first time on the Studio 8H stage. He was quick to address his firing from the show, joking with the crowd assembled that he shouldn't be in the position he is.

"Most you probably have no idea who I am. I was actually I was fired from this show a while ago, but don't look that up, please. If you don't know who I am please don't Google that. It's fine. Don't even worry about it," Gillis joked. "I probably shouldn't be up here. Honestly. I should be home. I should be a high school football coach. That's what I should be. Like God molded me perfectly to be a high school football coach/ninth grade sex education teacher."

Shane Gillis’s monologue! pic.twitter.com/pd1DjEhtp7

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) February 25, 2024

The comedian then mused about what he should be doing instead of being a comedian, stopping his set at one point to recognize that crowd wasn't responded to his jokes as he hoped.

"I actually I come from a long line of coaches in my family. My father is actually a volunteer assistant girls high school basketball coach, and he's actually here right now," Gillis added. "You think that's funny to bring my dad here to make fun of him for being a girl's high school basketball coach? I thought it was great. Nevermind. Thought was gonna be a big hit here."

Elsewhere in his set, he added, "I don't have any material that can be on TV. This is extremely well lit, I can see everyone not enjoying it. Yeah it's the most nervous I've ever been."

Gillis was initially set to join the cast of Saturday Night Live before Season 45, but was canned shortly after old racist comments made by the comedian surfaced online.

Who is in the Saturday Night Live cast?

Cast members for Saturday Night Live season 49 include almost the entire cast from season 48 of SNL. Returning stars include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang. Featured players that are part of the cast include returning stars Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, plus the show's only fully new cast member for the year, newcomer Chloe Troast. The comedy troupe Please Don't Destroy, made up of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, are also a recurring part of the series.

Saturday Night Live Season 49 is ongoing now with new episodes airing on both NBC and Peacock, starting Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET. All 48  seasons of Saturday Night Live are also now streaming on Peacock.