Martha Plimpton Blasts Lorne Michaels Over Shane Gillis' SNL Monologue: "He Needs More Women"

Martha Plimpton did not watch Shane Gillis’SNL monologue and stay quiet. The actress took to Instagram after Gillis compared women’s gym shorts to“artificial bait,”calling the bit“really f–king stupid”and aiming her real fire at SNL creator Lorne Michaels. Her message:“He needs more women around him making decisions.”She pointed to a documentary scene showing an all-white-male group deciding what would air.

The backlash spread fast. Ego Nwodim, a former SNL cast member, condemned the joke, along with Maren Morris and Dan Levy. But not everyone piled on. Radio host Bobby Bones defended the monologue on his podcast, framing it as comedy doing what comedy does. Reps for Gillis and Michaels have not responded to requests for comment.

The story has reignited a bigger debate about diversity in SNL’s writers’room and how late-night comedy handles gender and objectification in 2026. Both sides are loud, and neither is backing down. So we want to know: was Plimpton right to call out the decision room, or is this just comedy being comedy? Sound off in the comments.