Andrew Yang's tweets to Shane Gillis and Bowen Yang



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Update: SNL recently announced that Shane Gillis had been fired just four days after hiring.

A spokesman for the series issued a statement on behalf of executive producer Lorne Michaels: "After talking with Shane Gillis, we decided he would not join SNL. We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the series, and we hired Shane for the strength of his acting talent and his impressive audition for SNL. We were not aware of his earlier remarks that have resurfaced in recent days. The language that he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier and that our verification process did not live up to our criteria. "

Shane Gillis immediately responded on Twitter by doubling his previous non-apology for his inflammatory comments. He posted: "I'm a funny comedian to have SNL. It can not be removed. Of course, I wanted an opportunity to prove myself to SNLbut I understand that it would be too much distraction. I respect the decision they made. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity. I've always been a crazy tv guy anyway. "

The presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, is a pro-universal basic income and a dad's use finger pistols, anti-tie, and, apparently, anti-Cancel Culture.

The Democratic hope of 2020 has weighed in the recent controversy over one of the SNL three new recruits, Shane Gillis. In an episode deleted since his podcast, The secret podcast of Matt and Shane, Gillis says, "The Chinatown nuts … let the fairies live there." In another clip since deleted, Gillis specifically calls Yang "a Ju ch ** k". In response, Yang posted a Twitter feed explaining how "hurtful" he is, but he "forgives".[s] Shane, as the guy whom he called an insult, "because" our society, as a society, has become excessively punitive and vindictive with respect to statements of persons and expressions with which we disagree or that we find offensive ".

Gillis published a pseudo-excuse last week in the typical "evasion" of "I'm sorry YOU were offended". He defended his language by saying, "I am a comedian who pushes the limits, sometimes I miss him." "I'm happy to apologize to anyone who complains about everything I've said."

In response, Yang wrote a measured and thoughtful response: a rarity in racial commentary, especially its use in comedy. The 44-year-old tech entrepreneur said, "I prefer comedy that makes people think and do not take a beating, but I'm happy to sit down and talk with you if you wish. . " He bluntly added, "I've been calling ch * nk and g * ok many times in my life. It can be extremely hurtful to feel like you're not in the only country you've ever known. I've definitely felt that – the keen sense of alienation, anger and marginalization ".

The clips included Gillis' other inflammatory comments, including epithets on Muslims, the LGBTQ + community, and women. The focus was on his anti-Asian remarks, given that Gillis joined SNL alongside the first member of the full-time distribution of the American-Asian series, Bowen Yang. SNL has a long history of "risky" humor to comment on racial tensions (although the comic base product has declined miserably over the last few decades). But all good satire has a core of empathy that makes sharp criticisms on its subject; In contrast, Gillis' jokes were clearly a shocking humor in the locker room, focused on the lowest common denominator.

While many comedians have weighed in on the controversy, including whether or not Gillis should be allowed to keep his new job, Yang shared his view that Gillis should be allowed to stay: "For the record, I do not do not think he should lose his job.We would be more lenient than punitive.We are all human beings. "

Andrew YangTwitter

In fact, Gillis' recruitment (despite his earlier comments) and Yang's response both illustrate the complex and strange racial prejudices that still surround Americans of Asian descent. According to the last census of 2010, Americans of Asian origin represent only about 5% of the population. This would explain the low representation of Asian faces in the media, with only 1% of Hollywood's leading roles attributed to Asian actors (even after Crazy Rich Asiansbox office success last year).

As such, the addition of Bowen Yang to SNL was hailed as a highly anticipated step forward in the show's 44-show series. This includes Andrew Yang, who congratulated the comedian on Twitter saying, "I hope you will play me on SNL." Imagine if the new season opens with (Bowen) Yang playing (Andrew) Yang responding to a racist comment in a thoughtful, satirical commentary. It's probably too big a wait for the show of endangered skits, but America can dream.

As an American comedian of Muslim origin and former member of the production staff of SNL Dean Obeidallah, noted: "The words [Gillis] says perhaps has already made it too toxic for the iconic late night show. But no matter what happens, the hope is that people like Gillis can be encouraged to learn and evolve. Of course, the person must be willing to do the work for that to happen. "

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