Shane Gillis Plans to Go Hard and Use Signature Down Syndrome Jokes on ‘SNL’

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By Oli Coleman

Given that Shane Gillis was fired from “Saturday Night Live” for using a racial slur, one would imagine he would tread a little carefully during his surprising return to the show.

Apparently not, we hear. Sources tell Page Six that Gillis plans to use the Down syndrome jokes that have long been part of her act.

Gillis has relatives with the condition and has worked with children who live with it, and the parts he does in his stand-up act are unconventionally affectionate and even celebratory of people with Down. But it remains to be seen whether the sometimes uncomfortable material will scare off mainstream TV audiences.

The comedian’s performance as host of the show on Saturday is a big story in the world of comedy.

Gillis was hired by the NBC institution in 2019, but was fired five days later without ever having been on air.

The star was fired because a 2018 podcast episode surfaced in which he and other comedians used a racial slur toward Chinese people. They were posing as former pre-war owners when they used the phrase, but “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels still kicked him out.

A Page Six spy spotted Gillis working on material a couple of times at comedy clubs around town in the days leading up to his hosting gig, and told us he appears to be preparing Downs’ parts.

“He’s going all out,” the spy said.

Meanwhile, sources at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas earlier this month said Gillis was “the star of the weekend.”

“He was at all the parties and everyone seemed to want to talk to him,” the spy said. “He’s much more famous than most of the ‘SNL’ cast.”

Since the “SNL” incident, Gillis has gained a serious profile partly due to her two popular Netflix specials, “Live In Austin” and “Beautiful Dogs,” but perhaps primarily due to her regular appearance on the controversial but wildly popular “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

Representatives for Gillis and “Saturday Night Live” did not respond to us.