Dan Levy has sharply criticized comedian Shane Gillis following his controversial opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, stating he was left “speechless” that such material aired on live national television.
Gillis hosted the long-running sketch show over the weekend, immediately polarizing viewers with a stand-up set that described women at the gym as looking like “whores.”
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now?” Gillis said. “Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe it. Have you seen it? I’ve seen it.”
He continued: “You’ve seen the shorts? They’re those neon, like, artificial bait-colored shorts, and the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole. And don’t look! You’re not allowed to look.”
In a pointed Instagram post, Levy denounced both Gillis and the show for allowing the segment to broadcast live. “Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them whores,” he wrote. “It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there.”
Levy added: “I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television. And to be perfectly honest, more men need to be standing up in opposition to it because it’s complacency that has created the environment in which women are sexually assaulted and it’s a ‘conversation’ as opposed to a ‘crime.'”
He continued: “This is not a women’s issue, this is an everybody issue. Because the more that men objectify women in the media, the more that other men see them as objects and treat them as objects… I’m sorry if this gets me in trouble with the internet, but fuck.”
Dan Levy calls on men to stand up for women following comedian Shane Gillis’ comments about them dressing like “wh*res” at the gym:
“Men need to be defending women more. This is not a women’s issue, this is an everybody issue. Because the more that men objectify women in the… pic.twitter.com/Klb7irEQlo
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) October 12, 2026
The hosting gig marked Gillis’s third stint at Studio 8H, following appearances in February 2024 and March 2025. He was initially hired as a cast member in 2019 but was dismissed days later after past podcast footage surfaced containing homophobic and racist remarks, according to Variety.
Levy previously hosted SNL in 2021, shortly after concluding his work on Schitt’s Creek.
Elsewhere on the latest episode, Rosalía served as musical guest, performing “Reliquia” and “Magnolias.” Her rendition of “Reliquia” drew particular attention for a striking staging choice: she remained almost entirely motionless, standing en pointe for the song’s four-minute duration. This marked her second appearance as musical guest, following a March 2022 performance of “Chicken Teriyaki” and “La Fama.”
Recent musical guests this season have also included KATSEYE, who debuted with performances of “Animal” and “Hootie Frutti,” and Turnstile, whose appearance notably included a backstage encounter with Taylor Swift.
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