Shane Gillis is facing criticism from another TV star after a joke about women's workout clothes during his latest Saturday Night Live appearance. The controversial comic drew backlash from viewers, including a fellow comedian.
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Schitt's Creek comedian Dan Levy took issue with the comedian's October 10 opening monologue, saying the joke reflected a larger problem. Gillis took aim at how women dress when they go to the gym.
"I haven't been to the gym in so long," Gillis said in the monologue. "I didn't know women just dress like wh--es now?"
"Look, I'm sorry, there's no other way to describe - have you seen it?" Gillis continued. "I've seen it. The shorts? You've seen the shorts? They're those neon, like, artificial bait-colored, and the wrinkles go around the cheeks, and all combine at the butthole. And don't look! You're not allowed to look."
The remarks didn't sit well with Levy, who addressed the segment in an Instagram video.
Shane Gillis Controversy
"Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them wh--es," Levy said. He argued that men using that label were displaying misogyny, not making an observation about clothing. "There's a difference there. By the way, I've seen more men's nipples at the gym than I've ever seen women showing their bodies off."
The comedian also added, "I'm speechless that something like that can exist on live national television. And to be perfectly honest, more men need to be standing up in opposition to it because it's complacency that has created the environment in which women are sexually assaulted and it's a 'conversation' as opposed to a 'crime.'"
The dustup is another chapter in Gillis' complicated relationship with Saturday Night Live. The comedian was announced as a cast member in 2019, but lost the job days later after clips surfaced showing him making racist and homophobic remarks on a podcast. He returned to the show as a guest host in 2024 and again in 2025, before taking the stage for a third hosting appearance this weekend.
