A Munich story becomes the setup
On Saturday night, the British sketch comedy SNL UK aimed at its American counterpart, needling last week's US host, Shane Gillis, over jokes he made about women. During the show's Weekend Update segment, co-anchor Ania Magliano built her punchline on a news item about a ride operator at Munich Oktoberfest who was praised for handing out free cycling shorts to female riders.[S1][S2]
Magliano explained that the gym shorts would shield women from being upskirted, then said the garments left them exposed to something worse. As she delivered the line, the on-screen graphic changed from a photo of a woman on a swing ride to an image of Gillis during his Oct. 10 SNL monologue.[S1]
The monologue remark that drew criticism
In that monologue, Gillis said he had gone so long without visiting a gym that he was unaware women now dress in a certain provocative way, a comment that prompted broad criticism. A week later, SNL UK addressed the remark by turning the comedian's own taste for provocative material back on him.[S1]
Different rules on each side of the Atlantic
The British program also leaned on a key difference between the two franchises: what their performers may say on air. The American SNL is carried on broadcast television, where FCC indecency rules can limit content. SNL UK airs after 10 p.m. on Saturdays and is not bound by the same broadcast-language restrictions.[S1]
Magliano came back to Gillis to point out that he had made another misstep, letting an F-bomb slip out during a Dr. Seuss-themed sketch. In response, she fired a profane insult at him that set off loud cheering from the studio audience, and the whole exchange reached U.K. viewers with nothing bleeped or cut.[S1]
