‘SNL’ Alumni David Spade and Dana Carvey React to Shane Gillis Controversy

David Spade and Dana Carvey don’t understand why everyone is so angry about Shane Gillis’ monologue on Saturday evening live.

Addressing the controversy, Spade noted that everyone was supposed to weigh in on Gillis’ jokes, which sparked backlash after he said the women at the gym were “dressing like whores.”

“I read something today about Yahoo News and he said “Savannah Guthrie has been… the silence is deafening over Shane Gillis’ joke about SNL.‘I’m like, ‘Why does everyone have to give a fucking opinion?’ It’s like, “She didn’t speak.” She has something else in mind. Trust me. Relax. Let’s not start bashing Savannah Guthrie yet,” Spade said on Monday’s episode of Fly on the wall.

Carvey, for his part, said he didn’t understand the outrage, saying Gillis was just joking.

“I just didn’t understand the hubbub only because, to me, I saw it as what we call, I’m just going to say it, a joke,” he said. “When you tell jokes, you’re not literally saying that women are whores. You’re literally joking. Isn’t that kind of idea?”

But Gillis’ jokes came amid a speech about Cornell’s alleged sexual assault case, which reignited discussions about rape culture and misogyny in mainstream culture. As a result, many viewers, including some celebrities, criticized Gillis for making crude remarks about women’s bodies in his film. SNL monologue. Beyond his “whores” comment, he said the neon shorts women wear to work out have “wrinkles that surround the cheeks and all combine at the asshole.”

“And don’t look!” Gillis added. “You’re not allowed to watch. For real! Don’t watch, because they’re filming.”

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Schitt Creek Star Dan Levy spoke out against Gillis’ monologue, calling jokes about women’s sportswear “misogynistic.”

“I am speechless that something like this could exist on live national television,” Levy said in a social media video. “And to be completely honest, more men need to stand up against this, because it’s complacency that has created the environment where women are sexually assaulted and it’s a ‘conversation’ rather than a crime.”

Even SNLHis British counterpart eviscerated Gillis for his hosting gig last weekend, with “Weekend Update” co-anchor Ania Magliano calling him a “stupid c—-.”

“A ride operator at Munich’s Oktoberfest was praised for handing out free cycling shorts to female riders. Wearing sports shorts will protect women from raised skirts, but it will leave them vulnerable to something much worse,” Magliano joked before a photo of Gillis appeared on screen.

Gillis did not respond to the public outcry over his jokes. Ultimately, Spade said the reaction to the joke shed light on what hosts can and can’t do during their monologues.

“I think that SNL“If something kills, it passes,” he said. “If something totally explodes, then they’re in a lot of trouble.”

Watch the full episode of Fly on the wall below.