Actor Dan Levy, known for “Schitt’s Creek,” used his Instagram platform on Sunday to sharply criticize comedian Shane Gillis after the latter’s controversial opening monologue on “Saturday Night Live.” Levy called the remarks misogynistic and warned that men’s silence on such jokes helps create an environment where women are more vulnerable to sexual assault.
Levy’s call to action
Levy said, “I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television. More men need to be standing up in opposition to it because it’s complacency that has created the environment in which women are sexually assaulted, and it’s a ‘conversation’ as opposed to a ‘crime.’” He urged other men to speak out against similar commentary, emphasizing that the issue is not limited to women alone.
Gillis’s remarks
During his third stint as host, Gillis joked about women’s gym clothing, describing the attire in crude terms and suggesting viewers should not look at certain parts of the body. The monologue sparked immediate backlash for its demeaning language toward women who wear short workout shorts.
Counterpoint from advocacy group
Lisa Cusack, president of the Don’t L.A. My Burbank PAC, pushed back against Levy’s criticism, stating that noticing revealing clothing does not automatically constitute misogyny. “A woman wearing a skimpy outfit isn’t necessarily a whore, and a man noticing that she’s using sex to get attention isn’t automatically a misogynist,” Cusack said.
Broader cultural debate
Levy argued that objectifying women in entertainment reinforces harmful attitudes in everyday life, saying, “The more that men objectify women in the media, the more that other men see them as objects and treat them as objects.” He stressed that women are “superior human beings to men” and warned that speaking out may invite online criticism.
Responses and context
Fox News Digital reached out to NBC for comment, but Gillis’s team declined to respond. The controversy adds to ongoing national discussions about how media portrayals of women influence societal attitudes toward gender and sexual violence.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
