Sara M Moniuszko | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang responded Sunday to backlash against his call to forgive Shane Gillis, a new featured player on "Saturday Night Live" under fire for a 2018 video in which he uses a racial slur.

"I've experienced a lot of anti-Asian racism throughout my upbringing and it hurts," Yang told Jake Tapper in a CNN interview. "It's something that's very real and I do think anti-Asian racial epithets are not taken as seriously as slurs against other groups."

But Yang also prompted others to look at the "bigger picture," adding he believes "our country has become excessively punitive and vindictive about remarks that people find offensive or racist."

He added: "We need to try and move beyond that if we can, particularly in a case where the person – in this case, to me, a comedian whose words should be taken in a slightly different light."

In a 2018 clip from an episode of his "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast," Gillis made derogatory remarks about Asians while chatting with comedian co-host Matt McCusker.

"Chinatown’s (expletive) nuts," Gillis said. He then used a racial slur.

Page Six and Vice also report Gillis used the slur in reference to Yang, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate of East Asian descent, in a May episode of "Real A-- Podcast." The video of the episode has since been taken down.

Gillis issued an apology for the remarks on Thursday.

"I’m a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss," he wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. "I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said."

On Saturday, Yang shared Gillis' apology on his Twitter account along with a message.

"Shane - I prefer comedy that makes people think and doesn’t take cheap shots. But I’m happy to sit down and talk with you if you’d like," Yang wrote.

Shane - I prefer comedy that makes people think and doesn’t take cheap shots. But I’m happy to sit down and talk with you if you’d like. https://t.co/YxbzQ5WVLX — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) September 14, 2019

In a follow-up tweet, Yang clarified that he doesn't think the comedian should be fired from his new gig with "SNL."

"For the record, I do not think he should lose his job," he tweeted. "We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human."

For the record, I do not think he should lose his job. We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human. — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) September 14, 2019

Yang hasn't been the only person to respond to Gillis' remarks. The comments sparked instant backlash on social media, and many Asian comedians and writers called NBC's decision to hire Gillis into question.

The video of Gillis' anti-Asian remarks came to light the same day it was announced he would join "SNL" with Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, the show's first Asian cast member.

USA TODAY has reached out to NBC for comment.

Contributing: Cydney Henderson, Hannah Yasharoff

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