Actor Inde Navarrette used her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on Halloween eve to deliver a sharp response to comedian Shane Gillis following his controversial monologues targeting women’s athletic wear.
Navarrette, who starred in the horror hit Obsession earlier this year, took the Studio 8H stage for her opening monologue, balancing jokes about her breakthrough film with a direct callback to Gillis’s widely criticized comments.
Monologue Callbacks and Marvel Announcement
Addressing the audience, Navarrette opened her monologue by poking fun at her obsessive character, Nikki, in the horror feature Obsession:
”You probably know me from the movie Obsession. And a lot of people ask me if I’m anything like my character Nikki, and I’m like, ‘No… no, no, don’t do that!’ But the thing is, I’m nothing like my character in Obsession. Like, my boyfriend is here tonight to support me, and we have such a chill relationship, right?”
The camera then cut to her real-life boyfriend, Nick Aiello, bound with tape and gagged in an audience chair.
Navarrette then announced her casting as Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men feature before pivoting to Gillis’s previous month’s monologue remarks:
”I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to be in a Marvel movie. And I know it’s really important for Marvel that you get really fit, so I’ve been working out a lot, so every morning I put on my little w***e outfit, and I hit the gym.”
Context of Shane Gillis Controversy & ‘Obsession’ Release
The reference addressed comedian Shane Gillis’s SNL monologue, during which he sparked online backlash after lamenting that women at the gym “dress like w****s,” drawing accusations of misogyny and lazy writing.
- ‘Obsession’ Streaming Launch: Navarrette’s breakthrough film Obsession—directed by Curry Barker and co-starring Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter—began streaming uncut in India via JioHotstar’s Peacock Hub on October 30, 2026.
- Box Office Success: Produced on a reported micro-budget of $750,000 (~₹7.5 crore), the psychological horror film grossed over $522 million worldwide.
