How ‘cancelled’ comedian Shane Gillis made a comeback: from returning to SNL after being dropped over racist and homophobic remarks, to his podcast with Matt McCusker and new Netflix show Tires

Jun 4 , 2024

Who is Shane Gillis, pictured here with Donald Trump, and what has he been up to since being “cancelled”? Photo: @shanemgillis/Instagram

Gillis made headlines in 2019 when he was fired by SNL soon after he was announced as a cast member due to previous racist and homophobic remarks he made, but he returned this year to host an episode

The comedian’s found success despite the controversy: his new show Tires premiered last month and has been renewed for a second season, prompting not necessarily positive comparisons to Seinfeld

In 2019, Shane Gillis was fired by Saturday Night Live (SNL) before his debut and only a week after he was announced to be joining the show. He was “cancelled” for his racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments, and his future was uncertain.

But he continued working, self-releasing a stand-up special on YouTube. Over the last few years, he has slowly made his way back to mainstream media, landing a deal with Netflix with his comedy show Tires, which premiered in May. The funny man is back on screens, and is now a central figure in the controversial “accepting racism” or “fighting wokeness” debate.

Here’s what you need to know about him.

How Shane Gillis made his comeback

In May, Netflix show Tires launched with Gillis, 36, not only acting in the show, but serving as a writer, co-creator and executive producer. The first season has six episodes and follows the character Will, played by Steven Gerben, who runs his father’s auto repair chain in attempt to rescue the business. Will’s cousin Shane, played by Gillis, is one of his staff members. Other cast members include Chris O’ Connor, Stavros Halkias and Kilah Fox.

The show has received mixed reviews, with The Washington Post writing, “Forget Seinfeld. Tires is really a show about nothing.” According to Variety, Tires began in 2019 as a pilot on Gillis’ YouTube channel, which was later developed as a six-episode show that Gillis funded.

Shane Gillis also did a series of sold-out shows at the Netflix is a Joke festival. Photo: @netflixisajoke/Instagram

Just ahead of Tires’ premiere, Netflix confirmed that the show had been renewed for season two. Per Deadline, the deal adds to the relationship between the streaming giant and Gillis, which saw him perform at three Netflix is a Joke Festival shows in Los Angeles.

Netflix has also commissioned a stand-up special from Gillis that will air in 2025. It comes after his 2023 special Beautiful Dogs made the Netflix Top 10 in five countries. That’s quite a big deal, considering that, just a few years ago, his career was uncertain after he got cancelled.

What was Shane Gillis’ fallout with SNL?

Shane Gillis was fired before he made his SNL debut, but later returned to host the show. Photo: @shanemgillis/Instagram

In 2019, it was announced that Gillis would be one of the new SNL cast members for its 45th season. Soon after though, that relationship was terminated after clips of Gillis using racist, homophobic and misogynistic language on his podcast and previous stand-up shows began circulating on social media.