Shane Gillis Faces Backlash Over Caitlin Clark Joke at 2025 ESPYs

Shane Gillis stirred controversy at the 2025 ESPY Awards with a joke targeting Caitlin Clark, which many found distasteful. The comedian, 37, addressed the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on July 16, stating, “Caitlin Clark and I have a lot in common. We’re both whites from the Midwest who have nailed a bunch of threes.”

Initially, this quip elicited laughter from the crowd, but Gillis escalated the situation with a follow-up that drew ire. “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,” he remarked.

While some chuckles were heard in the venue, social media erupted with backlash. One user on X expressed frustration, stating, “Caitlin Clark got the ESPY for Best WNBA Player; Shane Gillis can’t ruin that with his stupid jokes.” Another fan added, “That is horrible! Not funny! And Caitlin has done nothing to deserve that. She only speaks well of everyone!”

Clark, 23, has yet to publicly respond to Gillis’ comments. However, she was not the only athlete targeted by the comedian during the event. Gillis also made jokes about Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, and Aaron Rodgers. He quipped about Rodgers’ vaccine stance and subsequent move to the New York Jets, suggesting, “Maybe he wasn’t right about everything.”

One of Gillis’ more notable jabs involved Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson. After referencing a gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, he took aim at the couple’s significant age difference. “Shohei is a once-in-a-generation talent. No one has been able to do what he does at so many positions: pitcher, hitter and bookie. A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bedtime,” he joked. “They do, they read The Very Horny Caterpillar, The Little Engine That Could But Needed a Pill First and, of course, the classic Goodnight Boobs.”

Gillis defended his remarks about Belichick, stating, “First off, he’s 73 years old and he’s dating a hot 24-year-old and people are criticizing him. What happened to this country? We used to be a great country. He won six Super Bowls. He’s dating a hot 24-year-old. Maybe if you guys won six Super Bowls you wouldn’t be sitting next to a fat ugly dog wife.”

As his monologue progressed, Gillis acknowledged the mixed reactions from the audience. “Well, I can see a lot of you do not like me, and that’s OK,” he said with a teasing tone. “That’s it for me. That went about as well as we all thought it was going to go.”