The freshest development in the Shane Gillis 'SNL' monologue saga came Thursday morning, when 'Weekend Update' co-anchor Michael Che appeared on NBC's 'Today' show and had to answer for his castmate's jokes about women at the gym.

Host Laura Jarrett pressed Che on his Instagram Story from earlier in the week — 'wonder what every question is gonna be about... Thanks a lot Shane' — and on the backlash itself.

Che's answer, per Page Six and E! News: 'That's comedy.

You think it's funny and then some people don't.'

When Jarrett asked whether Che laughed at Gillis' remarks, both outlets describe a deliberately awkward dodge. Che said he was at the cue cards during the monologue 'worrying about what I was gonna say that was gonna make people upset,' and only saw it the next day.

Asked what he thought when he finally watched, Page Six reports he paused for a long moment before answering, 'I didn't think about it honestly.' He added that not everyone on the show sees monologue scripts in advance and that he focuses on 'Update' because it is 'not something I'm natural at.'

Che's 'Today' appearance was itself a punchline come true. He was promoting his new Netflix special 'Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota,' released October 13, and had joked on Instagram days earlier that the Gillis controversy would hijack every interview.

'Gotta do press this week to promote the special. Wonder what every f--king question is going to be about.

Thanks a lot Shane,' he wrote, according to E! News.

The Los Angeles Times notes Che might actually be joking — but the prediction landed with uncomfortable precision.

Since the prior round of alum reactions, Ego Nwodim kept the bit going with a follow-up Instagram Story — 'Getting my 30 grams of protein in after heauxing' — and Cecily Strong added her 'new slutty ass orange shoes and rainbow socks' Pilates post, per Page Six.

The Los Angeles Times' Omar Gallaga argues in a new commentary that the real story is who has not spoken: 'SNL' and longtime producer Lorne Michaels have yet to comment, even as criticism spreads from Dan Levy to 'SNL' graphic designer Jessie Leo, who the outlet says called the joke a workplace-safety issue.

Gallaga notes that monologues from stand-up hosts are loosely scripted but still reviewed and vetted before air — meaning, in the commentary's view, the material was deemed worthy of airing despite Gillis' track record from his 2024 and 2025 hosting stints.

The stakes, as the commentators frame them, go beyond one monologue.

Gallaga writes that Michaels previously called the 2019 backlash an 'overreaction' to the resurfaced slurs that got Gillis fired after five days, and now risks 'badly damaging the show's reputation' by inviting Gillis back a third time — possibly, the commentary suggests, to prove he was right to resist the firing.

Per the Los Angeles Times, 'SNL' is on break and returns with a Halloween episode in two weeks, while Gillis himself has stayed quiet on the backlash, apologizing only for an expletive in a sketch.