Seasoned comedian Larry the Cable Guy isn’t afraid to continue to take the stage — even in a contentious and divided political climate.
“We live in the United States of America — somebody doesn’t want to like your act then don’t go see that person’s act. It’s as simple as that,” the comedian, real name Daniel Lawrence Whitney, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, July 9, while participating in the 37th annual ACC Golf Championship presented by American Century Investments in South Lake Tahoe.
“I don’t worry about it,” Larry the Cable Guy, 63, continued of performing stand-up comedy in a so-called “woke” America. “I already got a pretty good, built-in following and I got some awesome fans. You know, if I think it’s funny I’m going to do it and we’ll see where it goes.”
He added, “If you let it bother you, yeah it’s going to be tough. But I think Shane Gillis pretty much proved to everybody that you can get canceled and if you wanna double down on that that’s what people want you to do because they’re sick of it to. Shane Gillis got even more popular after he got fired from Saturday Night Live for being ‘too woke’ from stuff he did 10 years ago, you know? And now look at him.”
For the uninitiated, Gillis was hired as a featured player on SNL in 2019, but just four days into the job was fired after racist and homophobic comments previously made by the comedian resurfaced. At the time, SNL claimed it was unaware of his “offensive” remarks prior to his employment.
Larry The Cable Guy smiles in the second tee box during the first round of the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course Getty Images
Gillis also released a statement in the wake of his termination, but he did not apologize for his past comments. Instead, the comedian joked that he “was always a Mad TV guy anyway,” referring to SNL’s competition program.
“Thank you very much. Yeah, I’m here,” Gillis said on the SNL stage in 2024, when he returned to host the live sketch comedy show. “Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was fired from this show a while ago. Don’t look that up, please. Please don’t Google that. It’s fine. Don’t even worry about it.”
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He continued at the time, “I probably shouldn’t be up here honestly. I should be at home. I should be a high school football coach.”
Since his SNL controversy, Gillis has gone on to host the 2025 ESPY Awards — in which at one point he blamed the “writers” for a controversial joke about DeShaun Watson — and Netflix’s recent Roast of Kevin Hart.
“That’s the whole key right there. If you don’t like it, it’s like soda pop,” Larry the Cable Guy continued to Us of what fans should do when faced with a comedian they don’t particularly enjoy. “Find the one you like and don’t bitch about the others.”
