Asian American leaders met in Los Angeles to demand Netflix and Bud Light cut business ties with Shane Gillis unless the comic apologizes for past racist remarks. Gillis' comments on his podcast, surfaced in 2019, led to public outcry and to him being dropped from the cast of Saturday Night Live. But in the years since, Gillis' star has only risen, with Netflix announcing an "expanding partnership" with him that includes stand-up specials and a comedy series and Bud Light's decision to sponsor his upcoming comedy tour.
This past February, Gillis was invited back to the Saturday Night Live studio as a host. "If you duck a few years, slowly build your career back up and continue on as if nothing had happened, you can come back even stronger than ever," said Guy Aoki, founding president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans. Aoki was joined Thursday by local leaders from longtime advocacy organizations, including the Japanese American Citizens League and the Chinese American Citizens Alliance.
Democratic Congressmember Judy Chu, who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, issued a statement that was read at the press conference. "I hope that after these years of hate and discrimination against our communities, Mr. Gillis has taken the time to reflect upon his past words and actions and will finally apologize to the Asian American community,' Chu said.
On a 2018 episode of his podcast, Gillis used anti-Asian slurs and expletives to make fun of Chinese people.
