NBC (NOTE LANGUAGE) On the same day stand-up comic Shane Gillis was announced as one of three new Saturday Night Live cast members, he found himself having to apologize for a racial slur he made a year ago.
“Chinatown’s f****** nuts,” Gillis says during a segment of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, posted to YouTube on September 26, 2018, adding, “Let the f****** c***** live there,” with the latter being a slur for Chinese people.
While discussing Chinese restaurants, Gillis notes, “The translation between you and the waiter is just such a f****** hassle.”
The video has since been deleted, but freelance writer and editor Seth Simons shared the clip Thursday on his Twitter account.
“I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss,” wrote Gillis in a statement posted to his Twitter page on Thursday night. “If you go through my comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses.”
“I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said,” he continues. “My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”
Gillis was announced Thursday as SNL‘s newest cast member, along with Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, the latter of whom is the first Asian-American cast member on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show.
SNL returns September 28 for its 45th season with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Billie Eilish.
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