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Heading into the 50th season of Saturday Night Live, we knew that politics would play a major role in the milestone season and that has indeed been the case. Politics have always been a key point of inspiration for SNL with some of the biggest names in the show’s history taking on the roles of iconic politicians with the show pulling from the headlines for many of its cold opens – especially during election years.

The biggest question heading into season 50 was not whether the show would incorporate sketches of the election, but who exactly would be tapped to play the candidates running for election.

Maya Rudolph and James Austin Johnson were ultimately tapped to play Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, respectively, but it seems NBC’s long-running series had someone very different in mind to play Trump this season on Saturday Night Live.

SNL wanted fired star Shane Gillis...

Shane Gillis made a big reveal recently about Saturday Night Live.

If you were unaware, the 36-year-old comedian was briefly hired by the show in September 2019. He was fired four days later amid serious controversy.

Amid his comedy success, he was brought on to host during season 49 back in February.

Now, he’s speaking out about his rumored participation in the upcoming 50th season.

Keep reading to find out more…

Shane appeared on stage at the Las Vegas comedy festival Skankfest, and during one of the shows, Coke Magic, it was revealed that he was allegedly given the offer to play Donald Trump during the entirety of season 50.

“Nobody thought he was coming to this festival this year,” podcast host Luis J. Gomez said on stage to the audience at Skankfest. He then shared that Shane was able to appear at the festival because he “was offered to play Trump...

Saturday Night Live came this close to introducing a new (yet familiar) Donald Trump impersonator during its Sept. 28 premiere.

During a recent appearance at the Skankfest comedy festival in Las Vegas, Shane Gillis — the stand-up comedian who, just moments after being hired as a featured player in 2019, was fired from the show for his history of making racist and homophobic comments — said that he declined an offer from series boss Lorne Michaels to play the former president during the late-night sketch series’ milestone 50th season.

More from TVLine<em>SNL</em> Video: Friendly VP Debate Stresses Out Kamala Harris — ‘Why Are They Vibing?...

Many people are saying it, they’re calling it the worst deal in “Saturday Night Live” history.

Comedian Shane Gillis claimed that the sketch comedy institution invited him to portray Donald Trump on the show this season, and he turned the offer down. Gold Derby has reached out to NBC for comment or confirmation.

During an appearance at the Skankfest comedy festival last weekend, comedian Luis J. Gomez said that Gillis attended the festival instead of doing “SNL.”

In video footage of the live event shared by X user Zeebz989 (via The Daily Beast), Gomez introduces Gillis, who is in the audience, by saying that “nobody thought he was coming to the festival this year.

“Explain why,” Gillis says.

“Because he was offered to play Trump on the entire season of ‘SNL’ and he turned it down to f—ing be here, folks!”

Gillis confirms Gomez’s story, adding “They said,...

Saturday Night Live apparently nearly had a new Donald Trump impersonator for its 50th season.

Shane Gillis claimed over the weekend that he was asked to play the former President of the United States for the entirety of Season 50 but turned it down.

At Skankfest, a comedy festival in Las Vegas, it emerged that Gillis, who did spoof Trump when he hosted SNL last season, was asked by Lorne Michaels to do it again.

“Nobody thought [Gillis] was coming to this festival this year,” podcaster Luis J. Gomez said.

“Explain why,” Gillis replied. “Because he was offered to play Trump on the entire season of SNL and he turned it down to f*cking be here, folks,” Gomez added. Gillis said, “They said, ‘Are you serious? You’re going to say no?’ I said, ‘Lorne, I’ve got to go to Coke Magic.’”

The idea of a new Trump impersonator gained...

While there are a handful of powerful Hollywood figures who are currently serving jail time after allegations of sexual harassment and assault came to light during the #MeToo movement – namely, Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby – there are also a few celebs whose careers have essentially been put on hold or canceled as a result of the allegations levied against them.

One of the more high-profile ones who fits into the latter category is comedian and actor Louis C.K., who was accused by multiple women of masturbating in front of them in small, closed-off settings (such as in hotel rooms or on phone calls). Not long after these allegations came to light, Louis admitted that they were true and issued an apology. Still, it wasn’t long before he was dropped from a handful of upcoming projects; his feature film I Love You, Daddy was shelved and FX terminated their business with C.

Louis C.K. believes that the world needs to laugh right now. That's why he just surprise dropped a new comedy special on his website, which is his first since 2017. The controversial comedian has been quietly going out and doing small gigs over the years in an effort to put himself back out there. Much of the world had written C.K. off when sexual misconduct allegations came to light, which he admitted to do and apologized for.

The new special is titled Sincerely C.K. and it's streaming on his website. It's also available for purchase on the site for $7.99. The price also includes a year of access to the site. Louis C.K. released a pretty lengthy newsletter to announce the surprise special and says it's intended, "for those who need to laugh" He begins the long letter by revealing that, in his opinion, there are "two kinds of people in this world.

Louis C.K.'s surprise appearance at a comedy festival sent the crowd into a frenzy ... roaring in approval as he took the stage. The comedian hit up Skankfest NYC Saturday night in Brooklyn ... where the crowd had Zero clue he was about to take the mic. Check out the video ... the packed house gave Louis a standing ovation. Some of them literally jumped for joy. You can see a woman going berserk. We're told Louis...