BROADCAST BIAS: Feminist freakout over Shane Gillis comment is the real joke

In recent years, NBCs "Saturday Night Live" has followed the late-night trend of waging a self-righteous "humor" war on President Donald Trump. Almost every show begins with a Trump-mocking skit, and the "Weekend Update" fake newscast is heavily laden with snide comments about Trump and his conservative coterie.

What caused thumping outrage this week was comedian Shane Gillis, who was announced as an incoming "SNL" cast member in 2019 before getting canceled almost immediately for some anti-Asian jokes. His opening monologue this week was denounced for joking, "I havent been to the gym in so long. I didnt know women just dress like whores now. Look, I'm sorry, there's no other way to describe. Have you seen it? I've seen it, the shorts. Have you seen the shorts? Those neon, theyre, like, artificial vape-colored. The wrinkles go, like, around the cheeks and combine at the butthole."

What drew less attention was the second half of it, Gillis mocking himself, or men in general: "And dont look. Youre not allowed to look. For real, dont look, because they are filming. Im in the background of like 10 TikToks right now."

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The first broadcast network to pounce on Gillis was actually NBC, on NBCNews.com. Reporter Rebecca Cohen lamented: "Gillis, who is known for his raunchy style of comedy, has a history of placing women — and other marginalized groups — at the butt of jokes. Many people called it tone-deaf of Gillis to make such comments following the reports around a former Cornell University student who alleged she was gang-raped at an on-campus fraternity house in 2024."

"Many people" were represented by feminist author Jessica Valenti: "This is his contribution to that conversation," she said. "This is him telling us what he thinks of the discourse on sexual assault. ... That is rape culture."

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NBCs "Today" picked it up on air on Tuesday in the fourth hour. "I wouldnt want my kids to listen to that," co-host Jenna Bush Hager said. "It feels mean," co-host Sheinelle Jones agreed. "And that is the energy that I think made people upset."

"Today" also put the controversy on TV when fake "Weekend Update" anchor Michael Che came on to promote his new Netflix special. "How are you thinking about what happened this week with Shanes opening monologue?" substitute host Laura Jarrett asked. "Youve seen the pushback."

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Che replied: "Thats comedy. Its like, you think its funny and then some people dont." Jarrett asked Che if he laughed in real time. He denied seeing it in real time, as he prepared for his skit. Che also did an interview on NPRs "Morning Edition," but they never brought Gillis up.

NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben posted an angry thread on Bluesky: "I know this is nothing you havent heard before but like In th