Shane Gillis SNL cold open mocking Donald Trump receives backlash

Shane Gillis returns to SNL after being fired, but the show's cold open mocking Trump left viewers disappointed and unimpressed.

The sentiment on social media was pretty clear for anyone who tuned in to Saturday Night Live to watch Shane Gillis after the show started with a cold open making fun of Donald Trump. SNL is in a prime spot to have its best ratings in a long time with Gillis hosting. The comedian is returning to the show for the first time since being fired from SNL back in 2019, just four days after being announced as a cast member, due to resurfaced clips that were blasted as racially insensitive. Getting fired from SNL was arguably the best thing that's happened for Gillis' career, as he has blown up in the years since, and recently released his latest special Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs on Netflix. It seems like SNL is ready to forgive and forget, but it's clear they only want Gillis for the ratings. The excitement for this episode was high as people who haven't watched SNL in years tuned in to see Gillis. However, before we got to what we tuned in for, we were forced to sit through a horrifically unfunny cold open mocking Republican senators who support Donald Trump. The skit didn't even feature Gillis, who does one of the best Donald Trump impressions in his standup. It's not just me saying this. Scrolling through Twitter, it seems that pretty much everybody had the same reaction. It can only get better from here, right?