Comedian Shane Gillis stunned the ESPYs crowd on Wednesday night as he made a Jeffrey Epstein joke in his opening monologue.
The Department of Justice last week said it had found no evidence that the convicted sex offender had a ‘client list,’ as had previously been believed.
And Gillis wasted little time addressing that controversial topic while hosting the ESPYs.
‘There was supposed to be an Epstein joke here but I guess it got deleted,’ he said. ‘Probably deleted itself, right? Probably never existed, actually. Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.’
There were audible gasps from the star-studded audience following the joke from Gillis, who took aim at a wide range of stars in his opening monologue.
Gillis also used President Donald Trump’s plan for a White House UFC match as a chance to bring up the January 6 riots.
Shane Gillis pushed the limits with his opening monologue at the 2025 ESPYs

Gillis brought up late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in his opening monologue
‘Donald Trump wants to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn,’ Gillis began. ‘The last time he staged a fight in D.C., Mike Pence almost died.’
Gillis also poked fun at 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 also said that he and Clark had some things in common, as they ‘are both whites from the Midwest who have nailed a bunch of threes.’
And Shedeur Sanders was also not safe from Gillis’ barbs, as the comic mentioned the passer’s jersey retirement at Colorado.
‘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.’
Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced calls to resign after failing to deliver on President Trump’s campaign promise to reveal Epstein’s ‘client list’ and disclose the true nature of the disgraced billionaire’s death in prison.
Bondi, after initially claiming the client list was ‘on her desk for review,’ now insists there is no list, and maintains Epstein he did kill himself.
More to follow