Lorne Michaels Was ‘Angry’ Over Shane Gillis’ ‘SNL’ Firing and Says NBC Made the Call; Refutes Claim ‘SNL’ Goes Softer on Democrats: ‘There’s Stupidity on Both Sides’

Lorne Michaels told The Wall Street Journal that he was “angry” when Shane Gillis got fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 after offensive jokes he made on a podcast resurfaced online, including ones with racial slurs about Asian people.

“He said something stupid, but it got blown up into the end of the world,” Michaels said. “I was angry. I thought, ‘You haven’t seen what we’re going to do, and what I’m going to try to bring out in him, because I thought he was the real thing.'”

Michaels said it was NBC’s decision to fire Gillis and not his own, adding: “That was very strong from the people in charge. And obviously I was not on that side, but I understood it.”

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Gillis never became a “SNL” cast member, but he did return to the show in February 2024 as a host during Season 49. The decision was a controversial one given the comedian’s firing five years prior, but Michaels stayed in touch with Gillis over the years as his popularity continued to rise.

Michaels previously told The Hollywood Reporter in September that Gillis’ firing was a “bad time” and said the comedian “got beat up for things that he’d done years earlier and the overreaction to it was so stunning.” NBC’s decision to fire Gillis was partly due to advertisers threatening to not support “SNL,” with Michaels explaining: “200 Asian companies were going to boycott the show.”

“It was like a mania,” Michaels added at the time. “And the velocity of cancellation — and lots of people deserved to not be liked — it just became not quite the Reign of Terror, but it was like you’re judging everybody on every position they have on every issue as opposed to, ‘Are they any good at the thing they do?'”

In his interview with The Wall Street Journal, Michaels also maintained that “SNL” does not take sides when it comes to politics. The show is often seen as being more favorable to the Democratic party, especially amid the presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Michaels doesn’t see it that way. He said he’s a registered independent voter and that the show’s approach to political satire is bipartisan.

“There’s stupidity on both sides. Our job is to make fun of it,” Michaels said.

“SNL” is currently airing its 50th anniversary season. A new episode with host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan is set to air live on Nov. 2. Head over to The Wall Street Journal’s website to read more from Michaels and the “SNL” cast.