NEWSDana Carvey Admits He Never Understood the Controversy That Got Shane Gillis Fired From 'Saturday Night Live': 'I Just Saw It' as a 'Joke'
Dana Carvey defended Shane Gillis amid the backlash over his controversial 'Saturday Night Live' monologue.
Oct. 20 2026, Updated 10:15 a.m. ET
Dana Carvey weighed in on the backlash surrounding Shane Gillis' controversial Saturday Night Live monologue.
The former cast member defended Gillis' material as a "joke," although he acknowledged that the late-night sketch show might not have been the right venue for it.
Dana Carvey Questions the Outrage
Dana Carvey admitted he struggled to understand the controversy surrounding Shane Gillis' comedy routine.
Speaking on his Fly on the Wall podcast with David Spade, Carvey admitted he struggled to understand why Gillis' routine had caused such a stir.
"I just didn't understand the kerfuffle only because, to me, I just saw it as what we call — I'll just say it — a joke," he said.
"Like, when you say jokes, you're not literally saying women are whores. You are literally joking. Isn't that kind of the idea? No? Did I just get canceled?" Carvey added.
Dana Carvey spoke on his podcast 'Fly on the Wall' about Shane Gillis' joke.
What was Shane Gillis' Controversial Joke?
Shane Gillis sparked outrage with jokes about women wearing revealing workout shorts during his October 10 'SNL' appearance.
Gillis found himself at the center of the controversy after hosting SNL on October 10.
"I haven't been to the gym in so long, I didn't know women just dress like w----- now?" he started.
The audience responded with groans, and he continued, "I'm sorry, there's no other way to describe it. Have you seen it? I've seen it. The shorts? Have you seen the shorts? Those neon... they're like artificial bait colors. The wrinkles go around the c-----, and all combine at the b-------."
Gillis added, "And don't look. You're not allowed to look. For real, don't look, because they are filming. I'm in the background of, like, 10 TikToks right now."
- 'Speechless' Dan Levy Slams Shane Gillis Over 'SNL' Jokes About Women Dressing Inappropriately at the Gym: 'They Are Not Objects'
- Kathy Griffin Slams 'Hack' Shane Gillis Over Controversial 'SNL' Monologue, Jokes It Sounds Like He 'Can't Get Laid'
- Shane Gillis' Ex Claims Relationship 'Stripped' Her of Who She Was as He Faces Backlash From Critics Over 'SNL' Monologue: 'Been Terrified to Talk'
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David Spade Defends Comedy's Risk-Takers
David Spade weighed in on the debate, saying Shane Gillis knew his material would be a 'button-pusher.'
Carvey, who appeared on SNL from 1986 to 1993, said it probably "destroyed" in the "10 comedy clubs he played that week," before conceding that SNL was perhaps "not the right place."
Spade acknowledged the polarizing nature of the material, saying, "Listen, it got some laughs. I think he knows that one's going to be a button-pusher, but he doesn't care."
He added that on SNL, "If something kills, it gets a pass. If something totally bombs, then they get in a lot of trouble."
Dan Levy Slams the Joke
Dan Levy slammed Shane Gillis' joke in an Instagram Reel.
Among those speaking out against Gillis was Schitt's Creek star Dan Levy.
"Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them w-----. It makes the men calling them w----- misogynists," Levy said in an Instagram Reel on October 11.
"There's a difference there. By the way, I've seen more men's n------ at the gym than I've ever seen women showing their bodies off," the actor continued.
Levy added, "But 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.'"
