Shane Gillis Urges 2025 ESPYs Crowd To “Lighten Up A Little” While Cracking Controversial Jokes About Caitlin Clark “Fist-Fighting Black Women”

Comedian Shane Gillis brought his off-color sense of humor to the 2025 ESPY awards Wednesday evening where he was met with mixed reactions from the crowd for his controversial jokes.

Gillis took aim at several athletes and stars when he took the stage, including President Donald Trump, Caitlin Clark, Bill Belichick, and more.

At one point, he urged the crowd to “lighten up” after he cracked a “nepotism” joke about Shedeur Sanders.

“It’s been a big year for the WNBA, I love Caitlin Clark,” he said. “She and I have a lot in common. We’re both whites from the Midwest who have nailed a bunch of threes.”

The joke was met with more laughter than his last. “There you go, lighten up a little. It’s not serious. We’ll see about this one,” he said, as he launched into yet another controversial joke about the Indiana Fever player.

“When Caitlin Clark 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,” Gillis said.

Clark was not in attendance for the event, but the Indiana Fever star received the ESPY for Best WNBA Player.

Gillis’ controversial jokes didn’t stop there. At one point, an audience member booed him after he joked about being invited to the ESPYs to “capture” Mets outfielder Juan Soto, referring to President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

He even managed to sneak a joke in about Jeffrey Epstein.

“Actually, there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here but I guess it got deleted. Probably deleted itself, right?” he said. “Probably never existed, actually. Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.”

The 2025 ESPY awards can be streamed on demand Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.