Kenan Thompson Says Shane Gillis ‘SNL’ Monologue Backlash ‘Overshadowed’ the Episode and ‘We Would Have to Have a Real Chat’ If He Hosts Again

Oct 21, 2026 12:07pm PT Kenan Thompson Says Shane Gillis ‘SNL’ Monologue Backlash ‘Overshadowed’ the Episode and ‘We Would Have to Have a Real Chat’ If He Hosts Again

By Ethan Shanfeld

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Ethan Shanfeld

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“Saturday Night Live” veteran Kenan Thompson weighed in on Shane Gillis‘ controversial monologue, which sparked social media outrage due to a joke about women dressing like “whores” at the gym.

“I know Shane, and I don’t know him to be a mean person, necessarily,” Thompson said at the Axios Media Trends Live summit. “But if he were to come back [to ‘SNL’], I’m sure we would have a conversation of like, ‘How do you think that went?’ You know what I mean? And, ‘What do you think you could have done?’ Like a little kid, you know? I would just sit him down and be like, ‘So what do you think we could change there, pal?'”

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