“SNL” star Bowen Yang recalls apologetic phone call with fired cast member Shane Gillis

Plus, details about a lightbulb moment courtesy of Bill Hader's Stefon.

Saturday Night Live breakout Bowen Yang looked back on the fervor surrounding the firing of Shane Gillis, sharing that the controversial comedian called him in the wake of it all to apologize "for the mess."

Speaking with The New Yorker about feeling "incidental" to a larger story about "cancel culture," Yang recalled learning of the headlines not too long after he was offered a spot on the show. He awoke to texts from his agent that read "I'm so sorry," as well as reassurance from SNL boss Lorne Michaels that he didn't need him to be the "poster child for racial harmony." Then he texted Gillis, who gave him a rang and apologized.

“I ended the call by saying, ‘I guess I’ll just see you at work,’" Yang recalled. “He laughed and said, ‘Sure,’ and hung up. Then they announced that he was fired.”

Related: SNL stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Seth Meyers, and Bowen Yang roast Lorne Michaels at the Emmys

After a year in the writers' room, Yang was cast alongside a new crop of talent, including Gillis, in 2019, becoming the show's first Chinese-American and third publicly-out gay cast member. It was eclipsed after old footage resurfaced of Gillis making homophobic and racist jokes. Following his abrupt firing, Gillis was tapped as host of the Feb. 24 show. It drew controversy, but Yang — who shared a hug with Gillis during the show's goodnights — is very much ready move to past it all.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

“Anytime our names are in the same sentence, at least in a journalistic way, it always feels deleterious,” Yang told Variety over the summer when asked about Gillis’ hosting stint. “It feels like one person is trying to undo the other. I was just really curious about what that show would be like and if it would be an opportunity to really move past it.”

"I think he and I have done enough things in our careers now to really not [have] that be the definitive beginning or the thing that casts a pall over everything else that we do going forward," Yang added.

Related: Chappell Roan, Bowen Yang don't like your 'f---ed up' jokes about Roxxxy Andrews' bus stop story on Drag Race

In the expansive New Yorker profile, Yang also spoke candidly about finding his footing on the show, revealing that he struggled to picture himself among the cast in the time before his debut season. "It made no visual sense for me to see myself on camera, under the glare of the studio lights,” Yang said. But on a Turks and Caicos beach, while dropping acid and bingeing old sketches, it came to him while hallucinating "his own face swapped in for" Bill Hader's Stefon, per the profile.

"It was this cascade of imagery that washed over, and suddenly something clicked,” Yang recalled. “I was, like, Oh, this makes sense. I think I can do this.”

Yang has received three acting Emmy nominations since his debut, along with one writing nod.

SNL returns for its landmark 50th season on Sept. 28. A host and musical guest have yet to be announced.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.