Yang, a son of immigrants from Taiwan, struck a distinctly different tone from most online warriors when he said he would be “happy to sit down and talk” with Gillis about the ill-fated clip that resurfaced on Friday. The video shows the comedian tearing into Chinatowns and their inhabitants.

“Damn, Chinatown is f**king nuts,” Gillis says in the clip, referring to the ability of Chinese immigrants to build up their sprawling enclaves in the blink of an eye and without apparent opposition from the locals. “Let the f**king ch*nks live there.”

The clip, originally a part of Gillis’ and fellow comedian Matt McCusker’s September 2018 podcast, began making waves on Friday, sending Twitter into an uproar, with many calling on NBC to fire Gillis, a day after he was hired along with the first Chinese-American SNL cast member.

Yang, on the other hand, called for tolerance at a moment when society is deeply divided across political and racial lines.

“I think we have, as a society, become excessively punitive and vindictive concerning people’s statements and expressions we disagree with or find offensive. I don’t think people should be losing jobs unless it’s truly beyond the pale and egregious,” Yang tweeted on Saturday.

The democratic presidential hopeful said that while he has endured racial abuse himself, including being called “ch*nk and g**k,” the comedian does not strike him as being “malignant or evil.”

“He strikes me as a still-forming comedian from central Pennsylvania who made some terrible and insensitive jokes and comments,” Yang said, adding that he hopes Gillis learns from his mistake.