Comedian Shane Gillis took aim at President Donald Trump and his Epstein files disaster during his ESPY Awards opening monologue on Wednesday.
Gillis, who copped criticism during the monologue for racially charged jokes and who at once point was reportedly boo’ed by the audience, did score some laughs however after targeting the 79-year-old president.
“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,” Gillis said, to a mixed response.
“You don’t have to do that, it was fine, I didn’t write it,” Gillis said, before moving onto Epstein.
“There was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted,” he said, gesturing towards the teleprompter.
“Probably deleted itself, right?” he joked. “Probably never existed at all, actually. Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.”
The joke comes amid a wave of backlash against President Trump from his own supporters, in response to his inability to deliver on years of promises to release the so-called Epstein files.
Trump controversially told his supporters Wednesday morning to move on from the Epstein story, calling them “weaklings” for still wanting answers.
Although Gillis is not as pro-Trump as other prominent comedians, he nevertheless has a heavy MAGA fanbase. His podcast especially, which has regularly brought in right-wing conspiracy theorists as guests, has made Gillis a MAGA darling despite his jokes at Trump’s expense.
President Trump himself has claimed that Gillis is “on our side, right?” after meeting him at the Super Bowl this year. Trump’s son Donald Jr. is also an open fan of the comedian.
The rest of Gillis’ monologue featured dark jokes that veered past what the audience seemed comfortable with. Much like with his previous SNL appearances, Gillis repeatedly acknowledged that the audience wasn’t into his material.
“When Caitlin Clark retires, she’s going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist-fighting Black women,” Gillis joked.
At one point he referenced Norm MacDonald, who hosted the ESPYs in 1998, with an OJ Simpson joke that fell flat:
“Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy this year. He’s the first defensive player since Charles Woodson to win the Heisman. … That’s something they can never take away from you,” Gillis said.
“Unless you kill your wife and a waiter,” he joked. “In which case, they can take that away from you.”
“Well,” Gillis said, upon hearing the muted audience response, “I can see a lot of you don’t like me, and that’s okay.”
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