How could “Saturday Night Live” have miscalculated so badly on Shane Gillis? Well, now we know:

#SNL boss Lorne Michaels reportedly hired Shane Gillis in an attempt to appeal to conservative viewers: https://t.co/TDbQoP0zpW pic.twitter.com/tNSa7J4yVT — Decider (@decider) September 18, 2019

Here’s the hot scoop from Variety:

According to sources, the long-running NBC comedy show and series mastermind Lorne Michaels were actively looking to cast a comedian for its new season who would appeal to more conservative viewers. This was meant to counteract the appearance of a liberal bias on the show, given that it has seen a major resurgence in popularity in recent years with Alec Baldwin regularly portraying President Donald Trump while other cast members and guest stars have played members of his administration and those in his orbit.

Ohhhhhhh … so this was all about appealing to conservative viewers? Well, that explains it.

Except no it doesn’t.

This makes a host of assumptions about conservatives that are… something. https://t.co/v10pPwBUtz — Jane Coaston (@cjane87) September 18, 2019

Lol like anyone knew who he was — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) September 18, 2019

I also want to know, specifically, what made this person appeal to “conservatives.” Specifically. — Jane Coaston (@cjane87) September 18, 2019

The answer is: nothing. It’s a transparent attempt to blame-shift and win back some of the credibility he thinks he lost with his viewers. — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) September 18, 2019

Also: the Variety piece that all of these aggregated stories are based on is INCREDIBLY thinly sourced. https://t.co/iNskEIzu9p — Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) September 18, 2019

This is the entirety of the attribution. There are no quotes, even on background, that that’s what Michaels was up to. The piece reads to me like an entirely after-the-fact effort to shift blame. pic.twitter.com/EZIK8AveQz — Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) September 18, 2019

Because that’s what it is.

h/t @SonnyBunch, this is pretty pathetic. SNL embarrassed itself, and this sure smacks of them now trying to put the onus on those awful conservatives who wanted more racism on the show they already weren't watching. Not one person quoted in this article. https://t.co/kLlvacZs7T — David Rutz (@DavidRutz) September 18, 2019

Sure he did. Trying to cover his ass now by shifting the blame for this hiring onto "appealing to conservatives". He will say anything to get the woke scolds off his ass. — Starts with a K (@kilomikealpha76) September 18, 2019