“I ended the conversation by…”: SNL star Bowen Yang remembers Shane Gillis' apologetic call before his firing

Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang made history by becoming the first Chinese-American and third openly gay cast member. In 2019, he was hired by the show along with former cast member Shane Gillis and became a “sideline” part of a larger story about cancel culture. Before joining SNL, Gillis used racial slurs insulting Asians on his podcast, which went viral.

Joining the show at the same time as an Asian comedian caused a lot of controversy, which eventually led to his firing. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Yang recalled receiving a call from Gillis after the incident and before they were scheduled to appear on the SNL set.

The comedian was slammed by the media over the controversy, but some people stood by him and calmed him down. When he woke up, his agent had a text message saying, “I'm so sorry.” Later, SNL boss Lorne Michaels told him he didn't need him to be a “poster boy for racial harmony.”

When he finally texted Gillis to discuss the issue, he received an apologetic call back. “I ended the call by saying, 'I guess I'll see you at work.' He laughed, said 'Sure,' and hung up. Then they announced he was fired,” Yang recalled.

Five years after the incident, Gillis was hired as host of the show in February 2024. This caused controversy, but Yang, who also hugged him on stage, is ready to let bygones be bygones. “Whenever our names appear in the same sentence, at least in a journalistic way, it always feels damaging,” the “Wicked” actor said in an interview with Variety.

He added that they've both done “enough things” in their careers that this one incident won't hang over them and affect future projects. The multi-hyphenate star also spoke about Gillis' recent hosting gig, which he hoped would be a way for her to finally move on. “I was just really curious about what this show would be like and if it would be an opportunity to really get over it,” he added.