Actor Inde Navarrette used her first appearance as host of Saturday Night Live (SNL) to take a swipe at comedian Shane Gillis, bringing back a controversy that began with his opening monologue earlier in October.
During the Halloween episode, which aired on 31 October, Navarrette made a joke about wearing a revealing outfit to the gym. The remark appeared to be a direct response to Gillis’ comments about women’s workout clothes during his own appearance on the comedy show on 10 October. However, she did not explicitly name Gillis in her monologue.
Navarrette, who is known for the horror film Obsession and has been cast as Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men film, brought up her superhero preparation while speaking to the audience.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to be in a movie,” she said. She then referred to the physical training required for the role, adding, “And I know it’s really important for Marvel that you get really fit, so I’ve been working out a lot, so every morning I put on my little whore outfit and I hit the gym.”
The audience laughed at the line. The reference was clear to viewers familiar with Gillis’ earlier monologue, in which he had used the same term to describe how some women dress at the .
The controversy started when Gillis hosted Saturday Night Live on 10 October, 2026. During his opening monologue, the comedian spoke about returning to the gym after a long break and remarked on the clothes women wear while exercising.
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now. Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe [it]. Have you seen it? I’ve seen it. You’ve seen the shorts?” Gillis said.
He continued by talking about how people should not look at women wearing such clothes because they might be filming.
“You’re not allowed to look,” he said.
The joke drew criticism from viewers who felt it was insulting towards women and judged them for their choice of workout clothes. Several people criticised the comedian online, describing the remark as and unnecessary.
Actor and filmmaker Dan Levy was among those who publicly objected. In an video, he criticised both the joke and the decision to include it in the show.
“Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them whores,” Levy said. “It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there.”
He also said, “I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television.”
Navarrette’s joke came three weeks after Gillis’ appearance and used the same language to make a point about her own gym routine. Rather than directly naming the comedian, she repeated the phrase that had caused the earlier .
The reaction to Inde Navarrette’s joke was divided, with some viewers praising her callback to Shane Gillis’ earlier comments. One viewer wrote, “Nahh, that Shane Gillis callback was ELITE, ‘little whore outfit to hit the gym’ had me SCREAMING 😭 she cooked him (sic)”. Another said, “Inde did great too bad the writers at SNL can’t do comedy anymore (sic)”.
However, not everyone saw the moment as a successful response to Gillis. One viewer questioned the show’s role in the , writing, “So are we gonna act like snl isn’t the problem either for even giving a platform by letting him host or do they just get to keep patting themselves on the back for these ‘clapbacks’? (sic)”
Another comment brought up the way men dress at the gym, saying, “These men commenting like they arent about to wear no shirt no boxers and gym shorts (sic)”.
Some viewers also questioned whether the joke was written as a planned response by the show’s writers. One reaction read, “SNL after the joke they scripted backfires so they get a woman to go against it as a haha gotchu moment (sic)”.
Others felt Navarrette’s joke had not challenged Gillis’ original point. One viewer commented, “That’s….. Just proving his point…. Why do women let their own pride dumb themselves down so much? (sic)”
Another viewer pushed back against that interpretation, writing, “Ppl in the comments saying ‘its proving his point’ don’t have 2 brain cells to rub together. No need to argue with them, they probably already arguing with themselves (sic).”
The exchange has also drawn attention because of Gillis’ complicated history with Saturday Night Live. He was initially hired as a cast member in 2019 but was dropped before making his debut after old recordings containing offensive remarks resurfaced.
