NIGHT LIVE, THEY'RE NOT KNOWN FOR SHYING AWAY FROM CONTROVERSY SOME FANS THOUGH ARE UPSET AFTER SHOW RUNNERS ANNOUNCED COMEDIAN SHANE GILLIS WOULD BE HOSTING AN UPCOMING EPISODE. GILLIS WAS ORIGINALLY HIRED AS AN SNL CAST MEMBER BACK IN 2019, BUT IT WAS FIRED BEFORE HE EVER APPEARED ON THE SHOW. VIDEO SURFACED OF GILLIS USING RACIAL SLURS, MAKING DEROGATORY COMMENTS ABOUT CHINESE AMERICANS, LGBTQ, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND WOMEN. AT THE TIME, HE SAID, I'M A COMEDIAN WHO PUSHES BOUNDARIES I SOMETIMES Ms JOINING ME NOW IS JOE WONG, A CHINESE AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND AUTHOR OF NOT THIS SHOULD AGAIN, A COMEDIANS GUIDE TO TACKLING ANTI-ASIAN RACISM. JOE GOOD TO HAVE YOU. I'M GOING TO START WITH JUST THE BROAD QUESTION HERE GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR SHANE GILLIS COME BACK AND HOST. >> DO YOU >> THINK HE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RETURN? >> HI, VICTOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME DURING THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH. FIRST OF ALL. >> WELL, YEAH YEAH. AND HERE'S THE THING. MY TAKE ON THIS. IS IF HE HAS SAID THE EQUIVALENCE TO ANY OTHER RACE, HE WILL NOT HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY IF HE HAS SAID IN N WORD OR ANYTHING AND HAS SOMATIC, HE WILL NOT HAVE A CAREER. HE'S DONE. >> BUT >> FORTUNATELY FOR HIM, HE WAS SAYING ANTI-ASIAN SLURS. >> AND >> NOW THAT SEEMS TO BE A BRILLIANT CAREER MOVE. NOW HE GOT HIS NETFLIX SPECIAL. HE IS HOSTING SNL YOU KNOW, I'M A COMEDIAN MYSELF AND I BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, HATE SPEECH HAS CONSEQUENCES, WHEN HE SAYS THAT HE HAS THOUSANDS OF FANS. AND IS'S AND ESPECIALLY ASIAN KIDS, MAY GET BULLIED VERBALLY OR EVEN PHYSICALLY AND I'M A FATHER, SO I'M KINDA CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. >> I WANT YOU TO LISTEN HERE TO WHAT HE SAID. THIS IS A CONVERSATION WITH ANDREW YANG IN 2023, YOUNG AT THE TIME SAID THAT SHAN'T GILLIS SHOULD NOT LOSE HIS JOB AT SNL SHAME NEVER APOLOGIZED. HERE'S WHAT HE SAID. >> I WANTED TO BE CLEAR. I'M NOT A VICTIM. LIKE I'M NOT LIKE SITTING HERE LIKE, OH, I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID TO ME. IT'S LIKE NO VIDEO OF ME USING A SLUR. IT'S LIKE THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME BACKLASH. YOU KNOW, I KNOW I DIDN'T MEAN SO IT'S HARD FOR ME TO BE LIKE NOW I NEED TO REEDUCATE MYSELF >> WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THAT ESSENTIALLY, IT SAYS I KINDA DO THIS TO EVERYONE. I'M A COMEDIAN. THIS IS PART OF WHAT I DO WELL, YEAH. THAT'S >> BUT I DON'T SEE HIM DOING IT TO OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS, NOT JUST THE ASIANS SNOW BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF THE SMALLEST MINORITY IN THIS COUNTRY. MOST UNDERREPRESENTED. I JUST DON'T SEE WHY YOU NEED TO DO THIS. BUT IT'S AGAIN, IT'S A FREE COUNTRY. WE HAVE THREE SPECIES, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, LIKE SHE SAID HIMSELF, EVERY SPECIES HAS ITS CONSEQUENCES AND HE'S WILLING TO TAKE IT. I, I'M OKAY WITH THAT. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, I'M SLIGHTLY BOTHERED BY THE FACT THAT HE NEVER HAS TO APOLOGIZE AS THAT JUST SETS NOT A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE FOR OTHER COMEDIANS OR ANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT GUESS. >> JOE WONG, I THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH ME. I WANT TO READ ONE LINE FROM YOUR BOOK HERE AND I WANT PEOPLE TO DOWNLOAD IT WHERE YOU WRITE THIS. I WANT TO STRESS AGAIN THAT WE HAVE TO BE NASTIER AND MORE NEGATIVE WHEN WE SPEAK UP. I KNOW ASIAN-AMERICANS WANT TO ANY ARE USED TO PROTECT PROJECTING A POSITIVE IMAGE TO OTHERS THAT FROM YOUR BOOK, WONG WE GOT TO WRAP IT THERE. I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING. >> Y
