If you were in the sports world or seemingly anywhere, for that matter, you were not safe from Shane Gillis on Wednesday night.
The comedian went in on almost every topic imaginable in his no-holds-barred monologue to open up the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.
Gillis touched upon, among many other topics, Aaron Rodgers and his vaccine skepticism, Caitlin Clark and her potential post-WNBA life, Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson’s relationship, Shohei Ohtani and his disgraced interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, Shedeur Sanders’ Colorado number retirement and even President Donald Trump and Mets star Juan Soto.
Shane Gillis speaks onstage during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Getty ImagesOn social media, the ESPYs host was compared to the late Norm Macdonald, who delivered a polarizing monologue in 1998 that included a joke about O.J. Simpson, a popular target of Macdonald on “Saturday Night Live.”
Gillis leaned into the comparison and delivered an ode to the same Simpson joke, this time replacing Charles Woodson’s name with two-way Jaguars star Travis Hunter.
The love-it-or-hate-it type of comedy Gillis brings to the table elicited a varied reaction on social media, to the surprise of no one.
“I thought Shane Gillis killed his monologue at the ESPYs. And he capped it off with a tribute to Norm Macdonald,” wrote one user on X.
Shane Gillis speaks onstage during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Getty Images“How do you boo that joke man,” wrote another. “People are so sensitive these days that was hilarious.”
“I mean these are good,” wrote another. “Just let him host every year.”
“im not even offended this s–t just straight up not funny lol so many people are bad at stand up and still try to do it anyway. waaaaaack,” wrote one critic.






