Audience gasps as Shane Gillis lets slip expletive during Dr Seuss sketch

Published: 04:53 EDT, 11 October 2026 | Updated: 04:55 EDT, 11 October 2026

Shane Gillis made a sincere apology after his epic SNL opening monologue flop and shock F-bomb that left both the cast and live audience stunned over the weekend.

The 38-year-old comedian took on hosting duties for the latest episode, but accidentally let the curse word slip during a Dr Seuss sketch, after a joke about his ‘Adolf Hitler haircut’ went down like a lead balloon.

And at the end of the show, Shane gave a shoutout to music guest Rosalia before adding, ‘And sorry about earlier. Thank you guys very much. I had a good time.’

Fail: Shane Gillis, 38, apologized after his SNL opening monologue flop and shock F-bomb drop that left both the cast as well as the live audience stunned

Uh oh: The comedian took on hosting duties for the latest episode, but accidentally let out the curse word during a Dr Seuss sketch with Mikey Day and Andrew Dismukes

Thank you, Shane Gillis and Rosalía! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/fsurb8epl1

During the skit, the actor played the son of Cat in the Hat (Mikey), who was questioning Sam I Am (Andrew) about why he was pressuring his father to eat green eggs and ham.

The comedian said: ‘Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? My dad said he doesn’t like green eggs and ham. Drop it. Walk away.’

Shane then continued, ‘Bro, it’s a non-starter. He said he doesn’t f***ing-,’ before immediately pausing and throwing his hands into the air.

‘Jeez!’ he called out as some audience members let out small gasps over the slip.

The crowd began laughing, as his SNL co-star Andrew placed an encouraging hand on the actor’s back to continue.

After shaking his head with a breathy laugh, Shane continued the sketch with, ‘He said I don’t like green eggs and ham.’

Mikey later called back to the F-bomb slip in the skit as he said, ‘Zachary’s the one who’s going. I want you out of this house. You’re a loser, and you said a bad word!’

‘Yes, I did,’ Shane replied as he humorously went along with Mikey’s ad lib.

While the expletive was not censored during the initial live broadcast, the word was muted later on when the sketch was shared to SNL’s X account.

According to FCC guidelines, it is ‘a violation of federal law to air obscene programming at any time.’

It is also ‘a violation of federal law to broadcast indecent or profane programming during certain hours.’ A TV network or station could possibly face fines or penalties for not following the guidelines.

green eggs and ham pic.twitter.com/eWnIzmbMn3

Awkward: Shane immediately caught his mistake during the broadcast

This comes after Shane Gillis kicked off the show with his seven-minute opening monologue.

At one point, the star said, ‘I’ll tell you the thing that I’m really bothered by is I’ve balded directly into an Adolf Hitler haircut.’

While some audience members let out gasps of surprise at the joke, others let out laughs.

‘And it’s not good,’ he continued. ‘Because I give a lot of speeches and the front falls down a lot, and there’s no way to adjust it without looking exactly like [Hitler].

‘It’s the only way. I’m not going to do that,’ Gillis said while pretending to brush his hair to the side.

‘That’s gay. That’s it: You’re either gay or you’re Hitler, and isn’t that where we’re at as a country?’

The comedian also joked about how he needs to go to the gym to help him lose weight.

Controversial: He got mixed reactions over his ‘Adolf Hitler haircut’ joke during his monologue

‘Also, I haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t know women just dress like w****s now?’

The joke caused a stir in the audience as he continued.

‘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?’

He continued, ‘They’re those neon, like, artificial vape-colored [shorts], and the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole. And don’t look! You’re not allowed to look.

‘For real, don’t look, because they are filming. I’m in the background of ten TikToks right now.’

The opening monologue also included Shane Gillis recalling a failed hiking experience and how he also uses Joe Rogan’s sauna, which got a few cackles from the audience.

Drama: The comedian was cut from SNL as a cast member in 2019 after past videos emerged that showed him making racist and homophobic comments

Statement: After his axing, Shane spoke out and said it ‘feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements,’ but expressed that he ‘respected the decision they made

Decision: SNL creator Lorne Michaels later said that he had been forced to let Gillis go during an interview with the Wall Street Journal

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The comedian had been cut from the series after past videos emerged that showed him making racist and homophobic comments.

At the time, SNL released a statement condemning his ‘offensive, hurtful and unacceptable’ remarks while also apologizing for their ‘vetting process.’

He addressed being let go from SNL when he hosted for the first time in 2024.

‘Most of you probably have no idea who I am,’ he said during his monologue at the time, while adding, ‘I was actually – I was fired from this show. A while ago. But, you know. Don’t look that up, please.

‘If you don’t know who I am, please don’t Google that. It’s fine. Don’t even worry about it.’

SNL creator Lorne Michaels later said that he had been forced to let Gillis go during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

‘That was very strong from the people in charge. And obviously I was not on that side, but I understood it.’