Andrew Yang Doubles Down on Shane Gillis Defense: “That Was Not Something That Someone Should Lose Their Job Over”

Andrew Yang is sounding off on the Shane Gillis controversy yet again. On Thursday morning, the 2020 Democratic candidate stopped by The View, where he doubled down on his support of Gillis, who was fired from Saturday Night Live last week after videos resurfaced of him using racist and homophobic language. Yang defended his choice to back the ousted SNL cast member, saying that Gillis is “a ‘still figuring it out’ comedian'” who should not have lost his job. “We’re in this time where we’re unduly punitive and vindictive about misstatements,” said Yang. “And [we have] no sense of humor.”

Yang may have been on The View to discuss his policy ideas, but it was his recent interaction with Gillis that drew the panel’s attention. “You came out in support of Shane Gillis,” said Joy Behar, explaining that Gillis made some “anti-Asian remarks that were not funny” in a series of podcast episodes, including one from September 2018. Shortly after the videos resurfaced (but before Gillis was fired), Yang offered to sit down with the SNL cast member and discuss the controversy. “For the record, I do no think he should lose his job. We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human,” he tweeted at the time.





The candidate echoed that sentiment on The View this morning, telling the panel that Gillis “actually insulted [him] personally” by using “a racial epithet about” him. “I reacted like most people would, which is, ‘What the heck is this? Who is this person?'” recalled Yang. “And then my wife and I settled down and watched some of his comedy and tried to figure out whether we thought he was evil or whether he was something else.” Yang explained that after watching Gillis’ comedy, he “thought that he was a ‘still figuring it out comedian’ who told some offensive jokes,” but not outright malicious.

“That, to me, was not something that someone should lose their job over,” continued Yang. “As the person who was personally called out, I thought it was my place to say, ‘Look. I don’t think this person should lose his job.'” He added that “we should use this opportunity to become a little bit more understanding and forgiving,” as “we’re in this time where we’re, in my mind, unduly punitive and vindictive about misstatements.”





“And no sense of humor,” interrupted Behar. “And no sense of humor. I mean, he’s a comedian,” agreed Yang. “The comedy removal services are out there,” the longtime View co-host added.

Watch Andrew Yang discuss Shane Gillis in the clip above.





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