Dan Levy criticizes Shane Gillis for misogynistic SNL joke about gym attire
The Schitt's Creek star said the comedian's monologue remark about women dressing like 'whores' promotes a culture of sexual assault.
NEW YORK — Canadian actor Dan Levy has condemned comedian Shane Gillis for a joke made during his Saturday Night Live monologue that described women who wear short shorts to the gym as "whores."
"Women wearing short shorts to the gym does not make them whores," Levy said in an Instagram video on Sunday. "It makes the men calling them whores misogynists."
Levy, who hosted SNL in 2021, said he was "speechless that something like that can exist on live national television."
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Gillis made the remark while hosting the show for the third time on Saturday.
What did Shane Gillis say on SNL?
During his opening monologue, Gillis said, "I haven't been to the gym in so long, I didn't know women just dress like whores now."
He added, "I'm sorry, there's no other way to describe [it]."
Gillis critiqued the neon short-shorts that he says he sees women wear at the gym, comparing the attire to the "artificial bait" of a fishing lure.
He also said, "And don't look; you're not allowed to look."
How did Dan Levy and others respond?
In his Instagram video, viewed more than two million times, Levy argued that such commentary contributes to violence against women.
"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," Levy said.
He added that it becomes "a conversation, as opposed to a crime."
Levy said the objectification of women in the media by men will lead other men to "treat them like objects."
The video received supportive comments from celebrities including actresses Viola Davis, Elizabeth Banks and Hannah Einbinder, and rapper Flava Flav.
Some SNL fans also criticized the joke online, with one commenter asking, "Who on earth approved the 'wh*res' joke?! Read the room."
Another wrote, "Shane is very aware of the current moment with Jane Doe. And he chose that joke anyways."
What is the context of the backlash?
The backlash to Gillis's comments comes amid a wave of outrage against the men known as the Cornell 7, who are accused of a 2024 gang rape at an Ivy League frat house.
The case has ignited scrutiny over the school's handling of the situation and sparked the viral social movement "I am Jane Doe."
New York State prosecutors recently reopened an investigation into the alleged sexual assault.
What is Shane Gillis's history with SNL?
Gillis was hired as an SNL cast member in 2019 but was fired five days later after clips of him using an anti-Asian slur and making homophobic jokes during a podcast interview resurfaced.
The show apologized at the time, saying its vetting process "was not up to our standard."
He has since hosted the show on three occasions.
During Saturday's broadcast, Gillis also said he'd "balded directly into an Adolf Hitler haircut" and that adjusting it was difficult without looking "gay."
In a later sketch parodying a Dr. Seuss story, Gillis accidentally dropped the F-word, which NBC aired uncensored in some time zones.
Gillis apologized for the slip at the end of the broadcast.
He has not responded to Levy's comments or to overall criticism of his monologue.
With files from Global News, The Globe and Mail and CBC News