Saturday Night Live veteran Dana Carvey has labeled comedian Shane Gillis’ October 10 monologue—a segment where he declared, “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now”—as “a joke.” The remarks, which portrayed Gillis as a creep noticing women’s revealing workout attire, drew condemnation from fellow entertainers including Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy, who called them misogynistic.
Carvey, who spent seven seasons on SNL from 1986 to 1993, expressed confusion over the backlash during an interview on his Fly on the Wall podcast with David Spade. “I just didn’t understand the kerfuffle only because, to me, I just saw it as what we call — I’ll just say it — a joke,” he said. “Like … when you say jokes, you’re not literally saying women are whores. You are literally joking. Isn’t that kind of the idea?”
Carvey later added, “No? Did I just get canceled?” He acknowledged that such remarks might face severe criticism at comedy clubs but could land differently in SNL’s Studio 8H environment. Spade, a former SNL cast member from 1990 to 1996, noted the show’s audience largely consists of dressed-up young women—“not necessarily the crowd most receptive to Gillis’ observations about women’s gym attire.”
Spade also highlighted a societal contradiction: “I will say it’s almost comical that there’s people that say, ‘Oh, don’t make fun of OnlyFans. Don’t make fun of strippers. These are sex workers. They need to be respected.’ And then everyone hates Sydney Sweeney. And it’s like, what? Which one is it?” He concluded that SNL’s standards for jokes depend on audience reaction: “I think at ‘SNL,’ if something kills, it gets a pass. If something totally bombs, then they get in a lot of trouble.”
British comic Jimmy Carr dismissed the controversy, stating he makes worse jokes daily. Former SNL cast members Victoria Jackson (1986–1992) and Jeff Richards (2001–2004) also defended Gillis. Jackson told Entertainment Weekly, “He’s right about gym girls dressing like ‘whores.’ When did ‘camel toe’ become acceptable gym fashion and grocery shopping attire?” Richards called Gillis a “really funny guy” and an “obvious natural.”
While Gillis’ remarks offended many entertainers, a significant number of SNL alumni remain unconcerned about the fallout.
