COMEDIAN Shane Gillis left the ESPYs crowd in shock over joking about Jeffrey Epstein, Caitlin Clark, Shedeur Sanders, and others in his hosting performance.
Gillis hosted the sports awards show on Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Comedian Shane Gillis at the 2025 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night[/caption]
Gillis mentioned the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a stunning joke.
The 37-year-old addressed the political handling of the Epstein case.
“There was supposed to be an Epstein joke here but I guess it got deleted,” Gillis said.
“Probably deleted itself, right?
“Probably never existed actually.
“Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.”
Gillis made the joke after quipping about the January 6 Capitol Hill riots.
The star-filled audience appeared to gasp at Gillis’s joke.
No one was safe from Gillis as he then mentioned WNBA star Caitlin Clark, saying when she “retires from the WNBA, she’s going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist-fighting black women.”
The comedian wasn’t done with Clark, as he said he had a few things in common with the Indiana Fever star, as they are “both whites from the Midwest who have nailed a bunch of threes.”
Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was also the subject of a joke.
Gillis brought up Sanders’ jersey retirement with the Colorado Buffaloes.
“People say it’s nepotism because of his father. It’s not. It’s because he went 13-12 and almost won the Alamo Bowl. Definitely not nepotism. Alright,” the comic said.
Other jokes from Gillis included mocking the 4-foot-8 height of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, comparing her to a “leprechaun” and joking about Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson.
The Indiana Fever star Clark shooting a basketball during warmups this month[/caption]
While the audience seemed divided on Gillis’ jokes, plenty of fans on social media were in hysterics over his performance.
“Shane Gillis is a man of the people!” one wrote.
“One of the funniest hosting performances I’ve ever seen at an awards show holy s***,” another said.
“His humor is on another level. Always keeps us laughing!” a third added.
The 37-year-old Gillis hosted the 33rd ESPY Awards[/caption]
It was revealed in June that Gillis would host the 33rd ESPY Awards.
He has appeared on College Gameday and is a big Philadelphia Eagles and Notre Dame fan.
