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'SNL' adds 3 to its cast, including an Asian American comic

13 Comments
By LYNN ELBER

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The good news is Woody Harrelson as host and new cast members join. Thr bad news is Leslie Jones is gone and Billie Eilish is the musical guest.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I got a dollar that says it will only be two new cast members pretty soon.

https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/snl-shane-gillis-racist-homophobic-remarks.html

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I think one had to be British to find Benny Hill entertaining; one has to be American and find Adam Sandler funny to take away anything from this show. It is just not funny.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Took them awhile to check that box.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I think one had to be British to find Benny Hill entertaining

If I remember correctly, BH was very popular in America.

one has to be American and find Adam Sandler funny to take away anything from this show.

Well, that I won't disagree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riBWIbeATIQ

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I've been a SNL fan from the beginning. Lorne Michaels should know better to hire someone who's done racist material. The vetting obviously didn't go deep. 

I'm sure there's talented people without racist baggage. 

Racism isn't funny. If you need to resort to that anytime in your career, then you're not that creative, imo.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The problem with SNL is that it has become too political. There's too much anti-trump, anti-republican and anti centre-right humor that falls flat. Now this would be more acceptable if the humor was balanced. However, it isn't balanced as there isn't enough humorous sketches aimed at the left. Therefore half of its potential viewers aren't interested and switch off. Furthermore, even if you are neutral like myself, the show simply isn't as funny as it used to be. It could thrive but needs fresh writing from a broader spectrum

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Racism isn't funny.

I think you should research racialism and find how its different from racism. Never saw anything truly hateful on SNL. Also, you might have some racialism confused with culture that is usually presumed by race. For example, laughing about your average White person not being able to understand the slang or speech patterns in certain Black cultures can be hilarious. A fine example is in the movie Airplane! when the old woman steps up to translate "jive". Laughing about our differences can bring us together and being deadly serious about them can drive us apart.

Anyway, SNL has lots of ups and downs. Anyone who cannot see the ups is just a miserable person.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I don't agree with Shane Gillis being picked for the show. After his recent remarks and comeback argument I'm disappointed that SNL would still go down this route.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Crazy Joe

I don't find cheap racist jokes particularly funny. Dave Chappells lazy Asian guy stereotype in his recent Net Flick Special is a great example of that. Y'know, the one where he spent a good amount of time whining about how comics can't say anything anymore, 'cause people are too sensitive.

And got paid 65 million dollars for his trouble. Yeah, that one.

Anyway, humor necessarily will cause offense. That is what it does. Not because it need offend. But because it need be funny. And if we don't allow our comics to occasionally offend, then we are not allowing our comics to do their job, which is to be funny.

There is no subject that cannot be funny. That cannot be made fun of. It really depends on how its done. There is a general comic rule not to "punch down," that is, don't take easy shots at the weak and the vulnerable. In general, that is a good rule. Not because we shouldn't make fun of the weak or the vulnerable in principle (that is true, IMO, but not the point) , but because such punching down is nearly often lazy, stupid and not funny to anyone with the emotional maturity above a 13 year old.

Until this article, I had never heard of Shane Gillis. I watched few of his videos on Youtube and think he's kinda funny. I am unable to find the video in which he made allegedly offensive ( apparently cheap shot) jokes about Adrew Yang. Because they have been taken down. So it's impossible for me to judge if those jokes were cheap and lazy racist jokes or not. Because jokes have been censored.

See, I have this bad habit. I like to form my own opinions. But I can't. Because the jokes have been censored.

I know, I know, I'm weird. I prefer to live in a society where I run the risk of offending and being offended on a daily basis. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer it that way.

But all that really pails in comparison to the most compelling reason to not fire Shane Gillis from his new gig:

I'll grant the jokes were offensive. So what? Two offensively offensive jokes in a how-many year career? 10 years?

Puh-lease.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Wow, you guys are so woke.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

And then there were two. Just as I predicted.

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/shane-gillis-saturday-night-live-1203337908

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Fred Armisen had a Korean grandfather.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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