12 hours ago
Bowen Yang Responds to 'SNL' Extra Blaming Him for the Firing of Comedian Shane Gillis
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
An "Saturday Night Live" extra attempted to troll Bowen Yang on Instagram, saying he was responsible for the firing of Shane Gillis in 2019.
In the comments to an Instagram promoting Gillis's return to the show as a host on March 1, actress and comedian Michelle K. Best, wrote: "Can we acknowledge that Bowen Yang bitched him off the show - and he's the bigger man to come host after being unfairly ditched bc of a whiny queen. SNL fired him as a hater. He's not. He's very kind and has smart humor and stands up to bullying. Good for him!"
Made aware of the comment, Yang responded: "@michelle.k.best didn't do any of this but i wrote the sketch you were a background actor in."
The controversy began in 2019 when Gillis was set to join the cast (along with Yang and Chloe Fineman), SNL fired the stand-up star in response to the backlash regarding his past use of anti-Asian slurs on his "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast."
According to a report in Cracked, "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels kept ties open with Gillis, and, contrary to Best's comment, has a good relationship with Yang. "In fact, when the offending podcast clips that led to Gillis' firing first went viral, Gillis called Yang to apologize for the uncomfortable position in which the show's first-ever Chinese-American cast member found himself during what should have been the most exciting moment of his career.'I ended the call by saying, 'I guess I'll just see you at work,' ' Yang recalled of the conversation with his would-be cast mate in a New Yorker profile back in September. 'He laughed and said, 'Sure,' and hung up. Then they announced that he was fired.' "
And another comment in the IG chain put Best's comment in perspective: stephoneec writes: "Can't wait to see you at the Oscars this weekend Bowen! See you nowhere @michelle.k.best."
"Actress Michelle Best briefly appeared in the 2019 Yang-written SNL sketch 'Fashion Coward,' and although the show isn't listed as a credit on her IMDb page," adds Cracked.
Watch the sketch with host Emma Stone below:
