Shane Gillis turns down ‘Saturday Night Live’ Trump role — five years after the show fired him
“Saturday Night Live” recently wooed comic Shane Gillis to portray former President Donald Trump on the late-night institution’s 50th season — but this time around it was the short-lived cast member’s turn to say “You’re fired!”
Gillis revealed his former employer’s offer — as well as his refusal thereof — during a recent appearance at the Skankfest comedy festival in Las Vegas.
In the last few years, Gillis has become known for his Trump impression. Last July he showed it off on the wildly popular comedy podcast “Kill Tony”; that episode garnered more than 20 million views on YouTube.
Comedian Luis J. Gomez told the crowd, “Nobody thought [Gillis] was coming to this festival this year.”
Gillis replied, “Explain why.”
Gomez answered, “Because he was offered to play Trump on the entire season of ‘SNL’ and he turned it down to f***ing be here, folks.”
Gillis added, “They said, ‘Are you serious? You’re going to say no?’”
Gillis joked that he told “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels that he had to be at the comedy festival.
Almost exactly five years ago, Gillis scored his first “SNL” job offer — which was promptly rescinded just four days later after reports that Gillis had made “racist” remarks during a September 2018 episode of his “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.”
At the time, Gillis apologized to “anyone who was actually offended” and said, “I respect the decision they made. I am honestly grateful for the opportunity.”
Gillis was quick to rebound from his public “SNL” dismissal. Along with fellow comedian John McKeever, he created the sketch show “Gilly and Keeves,” which racked up tens of millions of views and featured a sketch with Gillis portraying Trump attending a speed-dating event.
In September 2021, Gillis released his very first comedy special – “Shane Gillis Live in Austin.” The special has more than 33 million views on YouTube.
In 2023, Gillis released his “Beautiful Dogs” special on Netflix, which introduced his impressive Trump impression to the masses. The special has a 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was the third-most-watched comedy special on Netflix.
In February, Gillis got a deal with Netflix for six episodes of his self-funded comedy series titled “Tires.” “Tires” boasts an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and was the top show on Netflix for a couple of days. In May, Netflix announced it would renew “Tires” for a second season and air another Gillis comedy special.
In the last few years, Gillis has become known for his Trump impression. Last July he showed it off on the wildly popular comedy podcast “Kill Tony“; that episode garnered more than 20 million views on YouTube.
Gillis finally made it to the “SNL” stage last February, when he hosted the show — and performed as the 45th president hawking his limited-edition sneakers.
In lieu of Gillis, “SNL” has comedic actor James Austin Johnson playing Trump this season. Alec Baldwin previously played the role.
In September, Michaels said there was a need to “reinvent” Trump because of his performance at the presidential debate.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
