Key Takeaways
- Inde Navarrette flipped Shane Gillis’ gym joke during her Halloween SNL hosting debut, joking that she puts on her “little whore outfit” to train for her Marvel role.
- Gillis’ original line about women’s gym clothes drew criticism from Dan Levy, Ego Nwodim and Cecily Strong, with Levy calling men who use the slur “misogynists.”
- Navarrette, who broke out in the horror hit Obsession, will play Rogue in Marvel’s X-Men reboot directed by Jake Schreier.
For Inde Navarrette’s Saturday Night Live hosting debut, the actress handed comedian Shane Gillis his most criticized joke right back with a crowd-pleasing reversal.
During her monologue on SNL’s Halloween episode, the 25-year-old talked up her next big role and shared her new fitness routine:
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going to be in a Marvel movie. 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,” she joked.
The audience applauded and howled at the line, and Navarrette grinned as the cheers rolled in.
The bit was a callback to Gillis, who hosted for the third time on Oct. 10. That night he said, "I haven't been to the gym in so long, I didn't know women just dress like whores now," he said, prompting the people to criticize the joke as sexist.
Schitt’s Creek creator Dan Levy was among the critics. He posted an Instagram video, saying, "Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them whores. It makes the men calling them whores misogynists."
Former cast members joined in. Ego Nwodim posted an Instagram story from the gym with a caption calling herself, censored slur included, "reporting for duty," and Cecily Strong also criticized the joke. On the Oct. 17 episode of SNL UK, "Weekend Update" co-anchor Ania Magliano mocked the f-bomb Gillis accidentally let slip in a "Green Eggs and Ham" sketch.
Navarrette broke out playing Nikki Freeman in Curry Barker's horror hit Obsession, which earned more than $522 million worldwide and is the biggest film Focus Features has ever released. In August, Marvel Studios revealed at D23 that she will play Rogue in its X-Men reboot, directed by Jake Schreier.
Navarette opened her SNL monologue by saying she is nothing like Nikki. Then the camera cut to her boyfriend, musician Nick Aiello, tied up and duct-taped in the crowd, giving two thumbs up.
Cast members then dropped in to join in on the fun. Marcello Hernández played a "sexy TSA agent," and Kam Patterson showed up as Elizabeth Holmes. Jeremy Culhane appeared as Wolverine and pitched himself for the part, and Navarrette told him, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I can't comment on that."
The next episode of SNL will feature Druski, the first social media influencer to host, with The Strokes as musical guest.
