Personally, I feel that censorship has gotten out of hand in recent time. I think that today’s cancel culture society has created an issue where we don’t allow people to grow. With that being said, there is certainly a line, and if you cross that line you have to expect repercussions. I spoke about comedian Shane Gillis on the class discussion board, and I wanted to circle back to that example.
In 2018, on the “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” Shane Gillis used the “C word” in referring to an Asian person. He used the word ironically making fun of New York City “slumlords” in Chinatown. Because he is a comedian, and is known for his joking manner, there was not an immediate, large reaction after this podcast episode aired. You can see a clip of this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFuap1U3P4
In 2019, just four days after Gillis was hired to be a writer on SNL, he was fired after the clip resurfaced and became viral. There was a massive mixed reaction after Gillis’ firing; many were outraged by the firing, and many felt it was the right decision. At the time, Gillis’ twitter was filled with hate from both Asian Americans and other races. Andrew Yang also utilized twitter to express his feelings towards Shane Gillis, but his reaction was very different than what many would think, as he explained that Gillis should not have lost his job. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/us/politics/shane-gillis-snl-andrew-yang.html Many people were shocked by Yang’s lack of hate for Gillis, but I personally agree with him that Gillis shouldn’t have been fired.
Despite me not thinking Gillis should have been fired, I do think he crossed the line with this joke. I don’t think jokes that have to do with race need to include slurs, especially in this case, as he was speaking ironically, and was impersonating a land lord. There are specific words, the “c word” included, that should be left out of joke writing.
The most interesting part of this ordeal surrounding Shane Gillis, is that his career really took off after the firing. “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” has increased in listenership and Gillis’ stand up career has taken off as well. According to Wikipedia, Shane Gillis won ‘”2019’s Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” in Theinterrobang’s Sixth Annual Comedy Awards’. Gillis continued in a trend of successful people who were let go by Saturday Night Live. You can see a list of A list celebrities who were also fired by Saturday Night Live here: https://www.insider.com/celebrities-fired-from-snl-saturday-night-live-2019-8 Sure, they weren’t all fired by Saturday Night Live for similar reasons as Gillis, but it still makes you think about talent being weighed more than “doing the right thing”.
References
YouTube clip of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast- Jomny Falisun
New York Times article- Matt Stevens
Wikapedia- various Authors
Insider.com article- Frank Olito
Censorship and Consequences 