"Saturday Night Live" veteran Kenan Thompson appears to be the only current cast member publicly scolding Shane Gillis over his controversial opening monologue.
And Thompson is prepared to treat the 38-year-old comedian like a naughty child.
'I think you need to educate yourself on how things might impact people.'
Performance review
Speaking at Axios' Media Trends Live event in New York City on Tuesday, Thompson said he would have to sit Gillis down for a little talk if he returned to host "SNL."
"I'm sure we would have a conversation of, like, 'How do you think that went?' ... Like a little kid," Thompson told host Sara Fischer.
"I would just sit him down and be like, 'So what do you think we could change there, pal?' And just figure it out."
Thompson's remarks stand out among reactions from Gillis' "SNL" colleagues. The current cast has largely avoided publicly criticizing the comedian, while prominent alumni Dana Carvey and David Spade have come to his defense.
Even Michael Che, who co-hosts the show's "Weekend Update" segment, declined to condemn Gillis when pressed during an appearance on "Today."
"That's comedy," Che said, explaining that he couldn't criticize Gillis for a joke that didn't land.
Carvey was less reserved.
"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!" Carvey said on his "Fly on the Wall" podcast with Spade.
Not every former cast member has been supportive. Ego Nwodim and Cecily Strong have both mocked Gillis' joke about women dressing like "whores" at the gym.
But Thompson, now in his 23rd season on "SNL," has offered perhaps the most patronizing response yet.
RELATED: Joe Rogan pounces on uproar over Shane Gillis joke about women dressing like 'whores' at gyms
'Harmful' ha-has
Thompson said he didn't necessarily consider Gillis a mean person, but suggested the comedian needed to learn that his jokes could hurt people.
"I don't think jokes are necessarily harmless just because they're jokes and you didn't intend it to be a certain kind of way," Thompson said. "I think you need to educate yourself on how things might impact people."
He also warned that comedians must balance their "creative liberties" with "watching your step as far as harmful words are concerned."
The remarks came more than a week after Gillis' third hosting appearance on "SNL," during which he joked that women at his gym were dressing like "whores."
RELATED: 'I say worse things than that every day': Jimmy Carr issues hilarious defense of Shane Gillis
Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via Getty Images
Stealing the spotlight
Thompson also seemed annoyed that the controversy had drawn attention away from the rest of the episode.
"Everybody's focusing in on this one specific word," he complained, adding that other parts of the monologue and the show were getting "overshadowed."
The actor pointed to new cast member Grace Reiter's performance and musical guest Rosalía, saying both deserved more attention than the debate over Gillis' remarks.
"It's sad, because nobody is even talking about it," Thompson said.
He went on to complain that the discussion had become a "back-and-forth on what's offensive and what's not."
When asked whether Gillis would be invited back, Thompson acknowledged that the decision wasn't his to make.
But he insisted that a return would require a "real chat" about avoiding behavior that creates a "wave pool" for the rest of the cast.
For now, Gillis has not publicly responded to Thompson's proposed fatherly intervention.
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