Bowen Yang insists he didn’t get Shane Gillis fired from “Saturday Night Live.”
The “Wicked” star, 34, shut down that rumor after Michelle Best, who worked as a background actor on “SNL,” commented on an Instagram post promoting Gillis’ stint as host this weekend, and claimed Yang, 34, was responsible for Gillis’ 2019 firing.
“Can we acknowledge that Bowen Yang bitched him off the show- and he’s the bigger man to come host after being unfairly ditched bc of a whiny queen,” Best wrote under the clip shared by “SNL” and Gillis, 37.
“SNL fired him as a hater. He’s not. He’s very kind and has smart humor and stands up to bullying. Good for him!” Best added.
Yang replied to Best’s comment and wrote, “Didn’t do any of this but I wrote the sketch you were a background actor in.”
Best previously appeared in a 2019 sketch called “Fashion Coward” that featured Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and host Emma Stone.
Last month, Best shared a clip from the sketch on her Instagram in honor of the NBC show’s 50th anniversary special.
“I’ve been cut from more sketches than I’ve made it into, yet it’s the only Background work I’ll accept bc it’s literally the most amazingly fast, highly technical work I have ever seen done,” Best said. “Truly impressive and congrats to the superstars who make it so legendary. The costumers, the props, the set designers- everyone behind the scenes are so beyond talented!”
Yang and Gillis both joined the “SNL” cast in 2019. However, Gillis was fired shortly after when a 2018 YouTube video of the comedian using a racial slur on “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” was brought to light.
The since-deleted video reportedly featured the comedian mocking Chinese accents as well as saying various homophobic slurs.
“After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL,’” said a spokesperson for the show at the time. “We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL.”
Yang, the program’s first gay Asian cast member, told the New Yorker last year that Gillis called him personally to apologize.
“I ended the call by saying, ‘I guess I’ll just see you at work.’ He laughed and said, ‘Sure,’ and hung up. Then they announced that he was fired,” said Yang.
After taking ownership for his past remarks, Gillis returned to the sketch comedy series to host an episode in February 2024. He joked about his firing during his opening monologue, saying, “Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was actually fired from this show a while ago, but if you know, don’t look that up, please. Please don’t google that.”
Gillis hosted “SNL” a second time last night. He was joined by musical guest Tate McRae.