Watch: SNL’s Michael Che Refuses to Cave to Woke Mob as Interviewer Nags Him About Shane Gillis’ Gym Clothes Joke
On Thursday, NBC Today host Laura Jarrett pressed comedian Michael Che to condemn fellow comedian Shane Gillis after gillis made controversial remarks about female sports attire during his SNL monologue. Gillis’s comments were considered misogynistic by many, leading to backlash within the SNL cast. Che discussed the controversy in an interview, noting he was preparing for his show and was aware of the provocative nature of comedy, emphasizing that he does not find such jokes funny and has not laughed at comedy in over a decade. Despite Jarrett’s efforts, Che refused to condemn Gillis explicitly, stating he wouldn’t criticize someone for failing, as he himself had also missed before. Che later clarified on Instagram that he did not laugh at gillis’s joke and expressed that he makes fun of various subjects in his own comedy. Ultimately, Che avoided condemning Gillis directly, which left Jarrett attempting unsuccessfully to obtain a clear denunciation.The piece underscores the difficulty comedians face in balancing edgy humor with public expectations of accountability.
On Thursday, NBC Today host Laura Jarrett tried to pressure Saturday Night Live comedian Michael Che into condemning fellow comedian Shane Gillis.
In case you missed it, Gillis returned to host SNL last weekend, and in his opening monologue, he addressed the revealing nature of modern female sports attire.
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like w****s now?” he said.
Shane Gillis’ monologue! https://t.co/ky6fVtWBx9
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) October 11, 2026
To the progressive left, this was seen as a misogynistic, rape-justifying attack on women.
It wasn’t long before the outrage reached the SNL cast.
Che appeared on “Today” to promote his new comedy special, “Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota.” After discussing the special, the host, Laura Jarrett, pivoted to the recent controversy.
She initially displayed Che’s Instagram post where he said, “gotta do more press this week to promote the special.. wonder what every f***ing questions gonna be about [eyeroll emoji].. thanks a lot shane.”
View this post on Instagram
When asked what he thought about the whole situation, Che responded, “That’s comedy. It’s like, you think it’s funny, and then some people don’t.”
Jarrett pushed still further: “Did you laugh at what he said?”
Che explained how he was prepping for his role in the show “thinking about what I was going to say that was going to make people upset.”
Jarrett kept trying to corner Che into renouncing Gillis, but Che effectively evaded capture, explaining that he “can’t criticize someone for swinging and missing,” because he had “definitely swung and missed too.”
After that interview, Che took to Instagram to explain his thoughts more clearly:
“Folks, I just want to make one thing abundantly clear,” he wrote. “I did NOT laugh.”
“Also, I NEVER laugh. NONE of this s*** is funny to me. I haven’t actually laughed at comedy in about 11yrs, ever since I figured out how to do it.”
He went on to describe his own comedy special: “I make fun of Charlie Kirk, I call the president the r-word, I talk about dating ‘loose women,’ blue balling gay dudes, and allude to God being a bad father.”
If his point wasn’t clear enough, he added that “far be it from me, to thumb my nose at anyone else’s attempt at humor.”
View this post on Instagram
Ultimately Jarrett attempted to force a denunciation out of Che.
He wouldn’t give it, and she was left looking a little silly.
It turns out that the only thing harder than telling an edgy joke on TV is forcing another comedian to condemn it.
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