A United States comedian has been singled out by Australians after his bizarre claim that the country ‘does nothing’ and has ‘no exports’.
Shane Gillis, 35, references Australia in his new stand-up special Beautiful Dogs, currently streaming on Netflix.
In a viral clip shared on Netflix’s Is A Joke social media pages promoting the special, the comedian explains why Australia is a good country and what he likes about it.
“Australia is good, Australia could be number two, that’s a good country, dude,” he says.
“It’s just an entire country doing nothing. That’s what I like about them. They’re just there – zero export, create nothing, dude.”
“The only export I’ve seen coming out of Australia is just that YouTube video of the guy punching that kangaroo in the face,” he adds with a laugh.
Australia does indeed have a lot of exports.
They include iron ore, coal, natural gas, gold, agricultural products such as beef and wheat, and minerals such as aluminum and copper.
Our university system, which attracts students from all over the world, is also considered an export because it brings in money from abroad.
Australia is also responsible for many of the inventions and innovations that shape the modern world – including Wi-Fi, the black box flight recorder, hearing aids, the polymer banknote, the HPV vaccine and the ultrasonic scanner.
Gillis’ light-hearted joke sparked anger among patriotic Aussies, who spread the skit on Instagram.
One user ranted: ‘Australia could well be number 2’ – Pretty bold coming from someone who lives in a country without free ambulance use, free hospital cover, four weeks sick leave and of course the fact that we can send kids to school without fear need be that they will be killed en masse.
Comedian Shane Gillis, 35, references Australia in his new stand-up special Beautiful Dogs, currently streaming on Netflix. The prankster makes a bizarre claim that the country is ‘doing nothing’ and has ‘zero exports’
“So grateful to be ‘second place’ in that hole of a country.”
Some users commented on the listing of several exports Australia has provided.
“Wi-Fi, cervical cancer vaccines, inflatable airplane slides, ultrasounds, electric drills, cochlear implants, pacemakers, black boxes,” one wrote.
“Umm, uranium, coal, meat, wool, gas, gold, wheat, copper, iron ore, alcohol, aluminum, crude oil. No, we don’t export anything,” added another.
The light-hearted joke sparked anger among patriotic Aussies. And it’s not the first time Gillis has been bothered by his ruthless jokes
Someone simply added, “The most American comment ever.”
It is not the first time that Gillis has been bothered by his ruthless jokes.
The prankster has previously spoken about being “destroyed” online after Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels fired him over abusive comments he made in 2018.
Gillis was fired from SNL in 2019 after clips of his 2018 performance on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast surfaced just five days after the cast announcement.
Shane Gillis was fired from Saturday Night Live and canceled by the media in 2019. However, the comedian has made a comeback following a string of performances and his new comedy special, Beautiful Dogs.
The comedian used homophobic slurs on the podcast, calling Asian people “ch***s,” an ethnic slur directed at people of Asian descent, especially those from China.
After the offensive videos and podcasts surfaced, Gillis said, “I apologize to anyone who actually feels offended by anything I’ve said. It is never my intention to hurt anyone, but I try to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that involves risks.’
The apology was misplaced, but the damage was already done. Not only was he canceled by the live sketch show, he was also thrown adrift by sections of the media and celebrities like Sandra Oh.
Not only has Gillis apologized, he has remained open about the matter years after it happened, focusing on how he was “destroyed” by Twitter.
Shane Gillis was originally supposed to be a cast member of Saturday Night Live in season 45. However, he was fired five days after the cast announcement.
“It was a bad joke,” he said on an April 28, 2022 episode of Bussin’ With The Boys. “I’m not saying I shouldn’t have been fired.”
Gillis continued, “It all exploded… It was number one on Twitter for three days.”
He claimed that SNL tried to keep him on the show, but that part of him knew he would be fired once the clips resurfaced.
He said, “I felt… I knew it was going to happen as soon as I got into trouble.”
“I understood the rules, but why do we have those rules?”