After news hit on Monday that newly-named “Saturday Night Live” cast member Shane Gillis had been fired from the show, famed “SNL” alum Norm Macdonald expressed his outrage at the decision, declaring “war” and reaching out to Gillis directly.
“Of course you know, this means WAR,” Macdonald wrote on Twitter, captioning a report on Gillis’ firing. The post is now Macdonald’s “pinned” tweet.
Macdonald also reached out to the dropped comic directly. “Hey, Shane, I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine how you must feel,” he wrote.
“The work it takes to get that show and to have it snatched away by some guy who does ‘Spoken Bird’ poetry,” he continued, referring to Seth Simons, the journalist who posted past offensive jokes from Gillis that sparked the outrage campaign.
“Unacceptable,” Macdonald added. “Please DM me, pal, when you have a moment. I’m so sorry.”
An “SNL” spokesperson released a statement on Monday announcing that Gillis had been canned.
“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining ‘SNL,'” the statement said, according to CNN. “We want ‘SNL’ to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for ‘SNL.'”
The production team was “not aware of [Gillis’] prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days,” the spokesperson said.
“The language he used is offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard,” the statement concluded.
As previously covered by The Daily Wire, journalists dug up commentary made by Gillis on a podcast called “Matthew and Shane’s Secret Podcast” — his project with fellow comedian Matt McCusker, wherein Gillis used a stereotypical mocking Asian voice and made fun of Democratic candidate and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, referring to him as a “Jew chink.” In another episode, according to The New York Times, Gillis “used homophobic slurs to describe Judd Apatow, the comedy filmmaker and producer, and the comedian Chris Gethard.”
While those facilitating the “canceling” of Gillis cheered about capturing their latest scalp, few others lashed out at “cancel culture.”
“Congratulations to everyone saying cancel culture isn’t real on getting Shane Gillis fired,” mocked comedian, writer, and political commentator Bridget Phetasy.
“Thank God after 9 years of stoically covering entertainment tv, Ryan finds his true calling: getting some guy fired. Congrats Mike! You truly made an impact!” Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld blasted UPROXX reporter Mike Ryan, referring to Gillis’ soon-to-be canning.
The Daily Wire’s Andrew Klavan wrote, “Shame, shame, shame on [SNL]. A tiny bit of courage and they could have defied the mob and let this young man have the career he earned. Shame on the [New York Times] and on every leftist moral midget who thinks this is okay.”
Reason and Campus Reform contributor Ben McDonald ridiculed “cancel culture” as “not just consequences. It’s complete shunning from society for jokes 5 people legitimately get offended by and blog about.”
Gillis posted a response to the news of his ouster on social media, noting that it “feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements.”
“I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get ‘SNL.’ That can’t be taken away,” he wrote. “Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at ‘SNL,’ but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity.”
“I was always a [‘Mad TV’] guy anyway,” the comic snarked.
Related: New SNL Hire In ‘Cancel Culture’ Crosshairs Over Past Offensive Jokes. Here’s His Response.