Shane Gillis made his return to Saturday Night Live, but not everything went as planned.
But first, let’s have a look at some of the craziest SNL facts to come out over the years
Because for over four decades, Saturday Night Live has kept audiences rolling with laughter–and there’s some behind-the-scenes details you won’t want to miss!
Pants
Chris Farley idolized John Belushi so much that once, he stole an old pair of John’s pants from the wardrobe room. Now that’s…creepy.
Cash
When SNL first came on the air, cast members only made $750 per episode.
Or as Olya Povlatsky would call it…THE BIG BUCKS!
Directors
Dave Wilson handled the ‘70s, some of the ‘80s, and half of the ‘90s.
Paul Miller stepped up to the plate for the chunk of the ‘80s Wilson missed.
Beth McCarthy-Miller took over the second half of the ‘90s up until 2006.
And Don Roy King’s been on the job ever since.
Catchphrase
On the first ever SNL episode, Chevy Chase delivered the show’s signature welcome…
“Live from New York, it’s SATURDAY NIGHT!”
Stefon
Remember how Bill Hader’s character, Stefon’s composure constantly broke on screen?
That was much thanks to SNL writer, John Mulaney!
He’d change the lines up on Hader, forcing him to read things he’d never seen before…live.
So savage.
Eddie Murphy
He really needed work, so Eddie called Neil Levy, the show’s then-talent coordinator, daily begging for a job.
Eventually, Levy caved, and had Murphy in to audition.
Murphy obviously blew him away right then and there, and was immediately offered a contract.
Name Change
Originally, SNL was called, NBC’s Saturday Night. Why? Because the name Saturday Night Live was already in use over at ABC on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.
Soon, though, ABC’s show ended, and Lorne quickly swooped in to claim the title Saturday Night Live for his program.
Controversy
In 1992, Sinead O’Connor got herself banned from SNL forever.
How? By ripping up a photo of the Pope on stage during her performance.
Yup. That’ll do it.
Politics
Ronald Reagan Jr. is the only presidential child to ever host SNL.
He also referred to Terry Sweeney as “Mom” during his entire show week because he was so fond of her Nancy Reagan impression. Aww.
Robert De Niro
He was the one who noted Fey and Palin’s uncanny resemblance to Lorne Michaels.
De Niro, we are forever in your debt.
Larry David
Back in the ‘80s, Larry David wrote for the show and constantly struggled to get any material on air.
One Friday, five minutes before the show’s start time, he up and quit.
Then, he took the weekend, realized how much money he was walking away from, and scurried back to work that next Monday.
Dedication
Sometimes, the show’s writers were so lazy, they wouldn’t even leave their offices to go to the bathroom.
They’d just pee in jars.
Um…yuck!
Mistakes
John Candy and Johnny Knoxville turned down the show. Seems like they both fared fine without it.
Friends
Lorne asked all the Friends friends to host…except Joey.
Poor Joey.
I bet someone could use a nice tasty sandwich, huh?
Location
SNL’s home, Studio 8H’s balcony level seats are on loan from Yankee Stadium.
They’ve been there since the show premiered in 1975 (loaned under the assumption that the show wouldn’t last long) and still remain today, mostly out of superstition.
NBC pays fines to NYC to continue using them and everything.
Candice Bergen
She was the show’s first female host.
And first repeat host.
AND first woman to host the show five whole times.
Go Candice Go!
Racism
Back when Murphy was on the show in the ‘80s, other cast members had to come down curbside with him at night to help him catch cabs.
Cabbies often refused to stop for him, because of his race.
Elections
A few time, SNL’s crew had to shoot the show outside of its normal home in Studio 8H.
Both in 1976 and 1984, they did so because the studio was being used instead for election coverage.
In 1977, they performed one episode live (on a Sunday) in New Orleans.
The Beatles
Lorne offered them $3,000. John and Paul were watching at the time and briefly pondered taking him up on his offer.
Alas, they were too tired.
And now, for the joke that shocked the world…
Shane Gillis made his return to Saturday Night Live this past weekend.
The comedian joined the SNL cast in 2019, but he ended up being fired just a few days later after recordings surfaced of him using racial slurs on his podcast.
Now, five years later, he’s back on the show, but this time, he’s the host!
It was announced earlier this month that he would be hosting the show on February 24 with musical guest 21 Savage.
Gillis started his monologue by addressing his 2019 firing, saying: “Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was actually fired from this show a while ago. Don’t look that up, please.”
“If you don’t know who I am, don’t Google that please. It’s fine, don’t even worry about it.”
Later on his in monologue, Gillis went on to poke fun at his father for being a girls’ high school basketball coach, saying that all little boys–himself included–are their mom’s gay best friends.
He also made some jokes about people with Down’s Syndrome, which some members of his family have.
“I don’t know if you can tell by looking at me, but I do have family members with Down’s Syndrome,” he said during his monologue.
His showing got mixed reactions, to say the least…
Some people absolutely loved the jokes, while others suggested he’d be the first host to get fired mid-monologue.
“Shane Gillis might be the first person in history to be fired while doing an SNL monologue,” one person wrote on X.
“He’s not the slightest bit funny,” another viewer added.
What did you think of Gillis’ monologue?