“Saturday Night Live” veteran Dana Carvey has a name for Shane Gillis’ crude, widely condemned remarks about women at the gym: a joke.
The comedian weighed in on the backlash to Gillis’ October 10 “Saturday Night Live” monologue, in which he declared, “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now.”
'I just didn't understand the kerfuffle.'
Schitt fit
Gillis went on to describe the revealing shorts women wear to work out, repeatedly portraying himself as a creep for noticing. The routine drew condemnation from fellow entertainers, including “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy, who called the remarks misogynistic.
Carvey, who spent seven seasons on “SNL” from 1986 to 1993, couldn't understand the fuss.
“I just didn’t understand the kerfuffle only because, to me, I just saw it as what we call — I’ll just say it — a joke,” he said on his “Fly on the Wall” podcast with fellow “SNL” alumnus David Spade.
“Like ... when you say jokes, you’re not literally saying women are whores. You are literally joking. Isn’t that kind of the idea?”
Then, apparently reconsidering the wisdom of his defense, Carvey added: “No? Did I just get canceled?”
RELATED: John Doyle: Why women are committed to proving Shane Gillis’ point
Tough crowd
Carvey acknowledged that a joke that might have destroyed at the comedy clubs Gillis regularly plays could land differently in NBC's Studio 8H.
He and Spade noted that the “SNL” audience tends to consist largely of dressed-up young women — not necessarily the crowd most receptive to Gillis' observations about women's gym attire.
Spade, who appeared on “SNL” from 1990 to 1996, was similarly unfazed.
“Listen, it got some laughs, but of course, I think he knows that one’s going to be a button-pusher, but he doesn’t care,” he said.
Spade also found something contradictory about the response to Gillis, particularly in a culture that demands respect for sex workers while condemning women such as actress Sydney Sweeney.
“I will say it’s almost comical that there’s people that say, ‘Oh, don’t make fun of OnlyFans. Don’t make fun of strippers. These are sex workers. They need to be respected.’ And then everyone hates Sydney Sweeney. And it’s like, what? Which one is it?”
Ultimately, Spade suggested that the difference between an acceptable “SNL” joke and an unacceptable one often comes down to the audience's reaction.
“I think at 'SNL,' if something kills, it gets a pass,” he said. “If something totally bombs, then they get in a lot of trouble.”
RELATED: 'I say worse things than that every day': Jimmy Carr issues hilarious defense of Shane Gillis
Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Natural-born killer
Carvey and Spade aren't the only comedians to defend Gillis.
British comic Jimmy Carr dismissed the controversy, saying he makes worse jokes every day.
Two other former “SNL” cast members also had kind words for Gillis. Victoria Jackson, who appeared on the show from 1986 to 1992, was considerably less diplomatic than Carvey.
“He’s right about gym girls dressing like ‘whores,’” Jackson told Entertainment Weekly. “When did ‘camel toe’ become acceptable gym fashion and grocery shopping attire?”
Former cast member Jeff Richards, meanwhile, called Gillis a “really funny guy” and an “obvious natural.”
Gillis' monologue may have offended a sizeable contingent of entertainers. But among some of the comedians who once worked on the same “SNL” stage, the response has been considerably less scandalized.
Jeff Richards, a cast member from 2001 to 2004, called Gillis a "really funny guy" and an "obvious natural."
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