Saturday Night Live star Michael Che has been criticised after weighing in on the backlash surrounding Shane Gillis’ controversial joke about women at the gym.
The SNL Weekend Update co-anchor was asked about Gillis’ comments on The Today Show while he promoted his new Netflix stand-up special, Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota.
Gillis sparked criticism after hosting SNL last weekend, when he took aim at women wearing short shorts at the gym, describing them as ‘whores’.
He then went on to joke about the difficulty of not looking at women while they work out, claiming he was probably appearing in the background of several TikTok videos.
Asked about the controversy, Che said: ‘That’s comedy. It’s like, you think it’s funny and some people don’t.’
He was then asked whether he had laughed at Gillis’ joke, to which he replied: ‘I was at cue cards actually, thinking about what I was gonna say that was gonna make people upset. I didn’t even see it until the next day.’
Prior to his appearance on the show, Che joked about facing difficult questions in the wake of SNL’s most recent show, as he wrote on Instagram: ‘I gotta do more press this week to promote the special. Wonder what every f*****g question’s gonna be about.’
He added: ‘Thanks a lot Shane.’
However, taking to Instagram, several fans questioned his comments, including one user called Danni Duncan who wrote: ‘Not feeling anything is a response. A typical male response.’
Meanwhile, another user called smdickinson1 added: ‘Not speaking up and standing up for women is a response,’ as Sarah said: ‘This is painful to watch.’
Posting on his Instagram stories, Che shared a message from another user who asked why he had previously called out Kanye West but appeared unwilling to do the same to Gillis.
Che said: ‘That’s a fair question. Especially since when I called Kanye out, I did so privately. I had no idea he was filming.
‘Point being, when I have a problem with someone I address them in person. Not thru the media. I’m not gonna drag someone on the Today show, when I can just text them. It’s a courtesy that’s been extended to me in the past, and I like to pay that forward.’
Gillis’ monologue has drawn criticism from several other celebrities, including Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy.
Levy argued that women wearing short shorts at the gym did not make them ‘whores’, but that men calling them that were being misogynistic.
He also said he was ‘speechless’ that the joke had aired on live national television, adding that more men needed to speak out against attitudes that contribute to a culture in which women are sexually assaulted.
Former SNL cast member Ego Nwodim also appeared to respond to the controversy, sharing a photo of herself at the gym with the caption: ‘Whore reporting for duty.’
Metro has contacted Michael Che for comment.