Maren Morris has hit back at Shane Gillis by owning his insult. She posted a gym video with the text 'me being a wh0re at the gym', told him to 'leave my gym short wedgie out of it', and set it to her own 2025 song 'Be a Bitch', which is about refusing to stay polite when someone is disrespectful to you.
The row began when Gillis told Saturday Night Live viewers that women 'just dress like whores now'. He was fired from the show in 2019 over racially insensitive and homophobic comments, so his return as host was always going to be watched closely. The studio audience groaned, and online reactions were swift.
Why Shane Gillis' SNL Gym Monologue Sparked Backlash
Gillis was hosting for the third time since that firing. His opening set moved from his own weight and a New York gym to women's workout shorts and people filming themselves exercising, and he said there was 'no other way to describe' it. Reports describe a muted response in the room, and many viewers online called the set tasteless.
When he was let go, Gillis has since built a career on a podcast, stand-up specials, and the Netflix series Tires. That background helped the joke spread quickly, with Dan Levy responding on Sunday night. Gillis and the network have not responded publicly, so the criticism has gone unanswered so far.
Maren Morris and Dan Levy Lead Public Pushback
Levy, who hosted SNL himself in 2021, posted an Instagram video arguing that women in short shorts are not whores, and that the men who call them that are, in his words, 'misogynists'. He said he was speechless that such a line could air on live national television, that he had seen more men's nipples at the gym than women showing off, and that more men should defend women publicly. Flavor Flav shared the clip, and Ego Nwodim, who left SNL in 2025 after seven seasons, responded with her own gym photo captioned 'Whore reporting for duty'.
Morris has a history here. In 2023, she told a newspaper she was stepping back from country music, citing misogyny, racism, and homophobia in the industry, and later said her quarrel was with the business rather than the music. Her reply to Gillis fits that pattern of speaking up, and the song she chose was released in July 2025 as part of the deluxe edition of her album Dreamsicle.
How Morris Reframed the Debate
Repeating the word back takes away its power to shame. It also shifts the argument from what women wear to what a man chose to call them, and it is hard to pile on when the target is laughing. The tactic suits social media, where a short clip with a catchy soundtrack is easy to share.
Critics say the sarcasm keeps the word in circulation. Yet looking at the broader online debate, public opinion is sharply divided—with some cheering the weaponised humour as long-overdue pushback, and others lamenting a loss of traditional decorum. Either way, with a Grammy winner, an SNL alumna, and a Schitt's Creek star all leaning into the joke, the conversation has officially moved past Gillis's monologue and onto the right of women to work out in peace.
