NEWSShane Gillis Roasts Bill Belichick and Aaron Rodgers During Hilarious 2025 ESPYs Monologue: Watch
Shane Gillis took aim at Bill Belichick and Aaron Rodgers during his opening monologue at the 2025 ESPY Awards.
July 17 2025, Published 7:47 a.m. ET
At the 2025 ESPY Awards, Shane Gillis delivered a knockout punch in his opening monologue, targeting not just Bill Belichick but also Aaron Rodgers. The comedian, 37, took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 16, making headlines with his bold jokes about the sports world.
Gillis didn't hold back on Belichick's 48-year age gap with his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, after referencing Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter and a betting scandal.
Shane Gillis didn't hold back in his 2025 ESPYs opening monologue.
"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 quipped, before adding, "They do, they read The Very H---- Caterpillar, The Little Engine That Could But Needed a Pill Fist and of course the classic Goodnight B----."
While the audience chuckled, Gillis later clarified he wasn't trying to "trash" Belichick.
"He's 73 years old and he's dating a hot 24-year-old and people are criticizing him. What happened to this country?" Gillis exclaimed. "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."
Following a wary reception, Gillis realized he may have gone too far and admitted he should have skipped that punchline.
Gillis extended his humor to Rodgers as well, poking fun at the quarterback's controversial views on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Shane Gillis took aim at Aaron Rodgers' stance on COVID-19 vaccines.
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"Aaron Rodgers did not take the vaccine because he thought it would be bad for him and then he joined the New York Jets," he quipped. "Maybe he wasn't right about everything."
After the comedic rollercoaster, Gillis offered a self-deprecating remark, saying, "Well I can see a lot of you do not like me and that's OK. That's it for me. That went about as well as we all thought it was going to go."
Shane Gillis joked that Bill Belichick reads 'Goodnight B----' to his 24-year-old girlfriend.
ESPN announced in June that Gillis would host the 2025 awards show for the first time, and Craig Lazarus, ESPN's vice president and ESPYs executive producer, expressed confidence in his selection. "Shane is not only one of the top comedians today but also a huge sports fan, which made him an easy choice to host the ESPYs. We are thrilled to work with him to create an entertaining show celebrating this year's best moments in sports and are excited to see what he'll do on stage," they said.
Gillis himself appeared enthusiastic about the hosting role, saying, "I'm excited to be at the ESPYs this year. I like sports, so this should be a good time."
ESPN took pride in Shane Gillis' comedic skills ahead of the ESPYs.
Earlier this week, Gillis shared a sneak peek of his preparation for the event during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
"I'm excited about it," he admitted on Monday, July 14. "I've still got a lot of work to do. I've got to figure it out."
"I've never done a thing where it's somebody else writing jokes, and they hired writers and they're like, 'Here's the jokes,' and they're, like, self-deprecating for me," he added. "So I'll be at home and I'll get an email and it's like, 'Hey, I'm Shane, I'm hosting the 33rd ESPY Awards, I'm a big, fat dumba--.' And you're like, 'Wait, who wrote this? Which one of you guys wrote that one? I'm not saying that.'"
