"You haven’t seen what we’re going to do, and what I’m going to try to bring out in him, because I thought he was the real thing," Michaels remembered thinking.

The SNL showrunner believes the network's reaction was "very strong from the people in charge." Lorne Michaels Was “Angry” Over NBC’s Decision to Fire Shane Gillis from SNL Eddie Fu

In 2019, Saturday Night Live made headlines after firing Shane Gillis before he was ever able to step on stage. He was ultimately let go after jokes he made on a podcast that included racial and homophobic slurs resurfaced and went viral.