Shane Gillis drops Epstein joke during host monologue at ESPYs

Shane Gillis did not hold back one bit during his opening monologue at the 2025 ESPY Awards.

The comedian Gillis served as the host for this year’s ESPYs at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. Gillis made waves with his no-holds-barred monologue to open up the show.

At one point during the monologue, Gillis dropped a Jeffrey Epstein joke.

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

Shane Gillis on the ESPYS with the Epstein joke pic.twitter.com/T83VPMnEHk
— MЇ₭€-ṤṀḮḼ₭ØṾỈCĦ (@mikesmilkovich) July 17, 2025

Gillis’ joke came as part of a greater bit about President Donald Trump.

Shane Gillis: "Donald Trump wants to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn. The last time he staged a fight in D.C., Mike Pence almost died… Actually, there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted…" #ESPYs pic.twitter.com/lneVij5IDY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 17, 2025

Additionally, Gillis took aim in his monologue at several other famous names. Among them were Caitlin Clark, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Deshaun Watson, and many more.

Many users on social media greatly enjoyed Gillis’ unfiltered monologue. However, others thought that it fell flat and believed that Gillis was trying too hard to be funny. Take a look at some of the reactions.