Saturday Night Live fired the recently hired comedian Shane Gillis for jokes he previously made about Asians on a podcast.
One person who does not agree with SNL's decision to fire a comedian for telling racy jokes is presidential hopeful Andrew Yang.
Tech entrepreneur and 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang revealed on Monday that he will be sitting down with comedian Shane Gillis, who was fired from "Saturday Night Live" Monday just days after he had been hired as a new cast member.
Gillis got the hook after a YouTube video surfaced of him and a fellow comedian discussing an unidentified city's Chinatown neighborhood hours after last week's announcement.
At one point, Gillis asked: “Why do the f---ing c---ks live there?” before complaining that Chinese restaurants are full of "f---ing Chinese... And the translation between you and the waiter is just such a f---ing hassle." He also said he was more annoyed by hearing an Asian trying to learn English when he's eating out than by any other "minority" playing music.
Page Six also reported that Gillis had described 2020 Yang as a "Jew c---k" on a podcast hosted by fellow comedians Luis J. Gomez and Zac Amico back in May.
After Gillis issued an apology, Yang extended an olive branch amid the uproar, telling him he prefers comedy that "makes people think and doesn't take cheap shots" and offering to meet.
"For the record, I do not think he should lose his job," Yang said. "We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human... I took the time to watch and listen to Shane’s work. He does not strike me as malignant or evil. He strikes me as a still-forming comedian from central Pennsylvania who made some terrible and insensitive jokes and comments.
Gillis' firing came less than a week after his hiring.
“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL,” an SNL spokesperson on behalf of Lorne Michaels, the iconic series' creator and producer, confirmed to Fox News. “We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL.
"We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”
Gillis released a statement, expressing his respect for SNL's decision.
"Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand It would too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I'm honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a mad tv guy anyway."
Following the announced firing, Yang told his Twitter followers that Gillis had reached out to him about a potential meeting.