Saturday Night Live's new addition Shane Gillis has come under fire for a racial remark he made earlier last year. A video which shows the comedian using derogatory words aimed towards Asians has now caught the attention of Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu.
Liu tweeted with an illustration of a racially aimed drawing of Asian-Americans from USA's industrial age. "It wasn't funny then, and it sure as hell isn't funny today," Liu wrote about Gillis' re-surfaced remarks.
Shane Gillis is one of the new cast members on board for SNL's 45th season. Shortly after the announcement, journalist Seth Simons shared a video from Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast where he can be seen using racist remarks against Chinatown and racial slurs to describe Asians.
Some of his other cruel words were, "the translation between you and the waiter is just such a f—ing hassle," and "Nice racism, good racism. I love to be f—ing racist."
NBC is yet to respond to Liu's comment or address the situation. But It does seem absurd to think the team at NBC failed to notice Gillis' racist comment prior to choosing him for the next season.
Bowen Yang, who also happens to be one of the new cast members will be the first full-time Asian-American actor on staff in SNL's 44-year history. It would be interesting to see what his response would be to Gillis's video
Fans on Twitter are slowly starting to boycott the show with the hashtag #fireshaneGillis or asking the comedian to step down. But the delay in response has fans questioning if the network is waiting for the backlash to cool down.
Liu will be playing the titular character of MCU's first Asian superhero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The actor has a lot on his shoulder since he does hold responsibility for making a place for his community in the comic book movie genre.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings releases on February 12, 2021.
It wasn't funny then, and it sure as hell isn't funny today.
This word has been used to dehumanize my people for over 150 years. You don't get to use it in the name of edgy comedy.
Like the other members of my community I am eagerly awaiting @nbcsnl's response. pic.twitter.com/oWAl7NuLKK
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) September 15, 2019
