New SNL Cast Member Shane Gillis Tweets Apology After Racist, Homophobic Routines Surface

UPDATE 8 p.m. PST: Shane Gillis, whose racist routines mocking and insulting Asians surfaced Thursday evening, just hours after he'd been announced as a new SNL castmember, issued an apology at 10:43 Eastern time, saying he was happy to apologize to "anyone who's actually offended by anything I said."

It's a lame apology, particularly in light of more racist and homophobic remarks that surfaced later, including a bit that called Judd Apatow and Chris Gethard "white f---t comics" and "f---g gayer than ISIS."

Just hours after NBC announced three new players on the show's upcoming 45th season -- one of whom happens to be the first full-time member of East Asian descent -- journalist Seth Simons posted video one of the new hires, Shane Gillis, mocking Chinese people and Chinese culture.

"Chinatown's f--ing nuts," Gillis says in the video, which Simons wrote is from a YouTube channel called Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast. "Let the f--ing ch---s live there." Later in the conversation, apparently recorded in 2018, Gillis says their talk was "nice racism, good racism."

The backlash has been swift and intense, with many on social media calling for Gillis' firing. NBC did not immediately return TV Guide's request for comment.

Saturday Night Live returns to NBC on Saturday, Sept. 28.