The ethnic slogan of the cast member – Saturday Night Live & # 39; exposes the racial problem of the series

Gillis participated in other recorded conversations in which he makes fun of an Asian boy with Down syndrome and uses homophobic insults about other comedians.

In a report tweeted On Thursday night, he defended himself as a "comedian who pushes the boundaries" and said he would be "happy to apologize to anyone who offends anything I 've done. My intention is to not hurt anyone, but I try to be the best comedian that I can be and sometimes it involves risks. "

"SNL" did not return a request for comment. The show is broadcast on NBC, a division of NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of NBC News.

On social media, some have decried the possibility that Gillis is a victim of the "culture of cancellation", in which the large-scale scandal of social media can be used to reject the celebrity or career status of someone. One, and that a perception of over-detection has forced people to subdue their comical urges.

Comedian Anthony Jeselnik tweeted on Thursday: "I really appreciate the annual tradition of trying to destroy a new SNL performer on the happiest day of his life."

But Marx said that "SNL" could not ignore "the cruel irony" that the controversy over Gillis' recruitment had occurred while the show also announced the hiring of Bowen Yang, a American of Chinese origin who is now the first member of the cast to identify as being Asian. . Yang, who joined the series last season as a writer, will also be one of the few cast members to be openly gay.

In 2016, Melissa Villaseñor, another new member of the "SNL" cast, was criticized for what she had written on social media several years ago by observing blacks, Mexicans and Japanese. But Villaseñor, who joined the group as the first actor of Latina, remains in the series and neither she nor "SNL" commented on the offensive tweets.

Marx said that actors with marginalized identities may be given more leeway, although more recently they are also paying the price for past transgressions. Kevin Hart has withdrawn from the Academy Awards organization this year after being criticized for his homophobic tweets dating back a decade.

But for someone like Gillis, added Marx, it's different: "It's a white and honest guy who crushes those jokes."

The comedian Darin Patterson, who hosts the podcast "SNL Nerds," said he understands the balance between the desire to be funny and not to override for the sake of a typing line.

"If you indulge in a joke, you must be ready to face any shock you might have," said Patterson.

He added that "SNL" might have to react to what happened because Gillis's comments are more recent, but that he could survive the loss of his job if they "waited until this is happening – there is always something new to make us angry and upset. "

On the contrary, this should teach the producers in the series to better control their new employees.

The way the series has approached the race has made progress in recent years, said Patterson. In some ways, it has come a long way since the white cast members wore a blackface in the 1980s – Joe Piscopo has already portrayed Jesse Jackson and Billy Crystal played Sammy Davis Jr – and even up to the years 2000.

The lack of diversity on the cast was screaming after Maya Rudolph, who is biracial, left in 2007, creating a void of black women. In 2013, Kenan Thompson, a black casting member, whose mission was to play black women such as Maya Angelou and Jennifer Hudson, announced that he would stop doing so, while claiming that there was a lack of black female artists "ready" for "SNL". tap.

The statement sparked criticism, but also forced the show to strengthen its diverse recruitment, which currently includes Ego Nwodim, who joined the cast last year as the seventh black woman. Leslie Jones, who joined the group in 2014 and suffered racial and misogynist harassment online, left the series last month before the season premiere on September 28th.

Although "SNL" has been on the air for more than forty years, turning its members into renowned actors and capturing American cultural genius with lasting characters, he has done a better job in recent seasons to capitalize on his diversity, Patterson said.

Last year, when the four cast members of the series – Thompson, Jones, Nwodim and Chris Redd – appeared together on stage for a Black History Month presentation, Patterson said that he had stopped and admired the road traveled by the series.

Regardless of what is happening with Gillis' job, "SNL" is fortunate to build on its successes recently while retaining its television legacy.

"And you can do all that by being funny first," Patterson said.