See more of our coverage in your search results.
Michael Che dodged questions about fellow comedian Shane Gillis’ controversial “Saturday Night Live” monologue during an awkward interview on “Today” on Thursday.
Che, who has been on the NBC sketch series since 2013, was asked by Laura Jarrett about his Instagram Story from earlier in the week, which referenced how Gillis’ monologue would impact his press tour for his new comedy special.
“go to do more press this week to promote the special. wonder what every questions gonna be about 🙄…” Che, 43, wrote, adding, “Thanks a lot shane.”
Jarrett, 42, asked Che about the monologue — which included disparaging remarks about female gym-goers — and “the pushback” Gillis has gotten.
“That’s comedy,” Che replied. “It’s like, you think it’s funny and then some people don’t.”
When Jarrett questioned Che if he “laughed” at Gillis’ comments, he replied, “I was at cue cards, actually, thinking about what I was going to say that was going to make people upset, so I didn’t even see it until, like, the next day.”
Jarrett then asked Che what he thought of the monologue when he saw it, and after a long, awkward pause, he responded, “I didn’t think about it honestly.”
Che went on to explain that not everyone who works on the show sees the monologue scripts beforehand, and noted he prefers to focus on his and Colin Jost’s beloved “Weekend Update” segment.
Gillis, 38, has been facing intense backlash for his comments about women during his monologue on Saturday.
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t realize women just dressed like whores now,” he said to a mix of laughs and groans from the live audience.
Gillis described the gymwear as ones with “wrinkles [that] go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole.”
He added, “You’re not allowed to look. For real, don’t look, because they are filming. I’m in the background of about 10 TikToks right now.”
Ego Nwodim was the first “SNL” alum to call out Gillis for the joke, sharing a selfie she took at the gym, and writing, “Whore reporting for duty.”
In her next Instagram Story, she snapped a picture of her breakfast, writing, “Getting my 30 grams of protein in after heauxing.”
Cecily Strong, who was on the show from 2012 to 2022, similarly trolled Gillis by showing off her “new slutty ass orange shoes and rainbow socks” for Pilates.
“Might sell sex on the way not sure,” she added.
Meanwhile, “Today” co-host Jenna Bush Hager slammed Gillis’ monologue on Tuesday, telling the audience that she would be “disgusted” if her husband, Henry Hager, ever spoke about someone that way.
Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy said on Instagram that he was left “speechless” by Gillis’ opener, while Kathy Griffin exclusively told Page Six that Gillis is a “hack” who looks like he “can’t get laid.”
However, Griffin noted that “as a comic,” she defends Gillis’ right to make his comments and “everyone else’s right to think less of him.”
Gillis was added to the “SNL” cast in 2019, but he got fired just five days later over resurfaced podcast clips that showed him using racist and homophobic slurs.