Comedian Shane Gillis has been announced as the host of ESPN’s 2025 ESPY Awards.
But, long before Gillis, 37, was tapped to emcee one of the biggest nights in sports, he was infamously fired from
In 2019, the Pennsylvania-born stand-up comic landed what was expected to be his big break: a spot among SNL’s 45th season cast.
Within hours of Gillis’s casting, however, clips from a podcast he hosted with fellow comic Matt McCusker went viral, with the pair heard engaging in conversation filled with racist slurs and homophobic comments. All episodes of the podcast were later scrubbed from its YouTube page.
In one conversation, Gillis described ordering food at a Chinese restaurant, saying: “The translation between you and the waiter is such a f***ing hassle,” and “more annoying than any other minority playing music out of their phone. An Asian trying to learn English bothers me more than someone listening to Lil Uzi Vert while I’m trying to eat f***ing dinner.”
In another, Gillis and McCusker attempted to “rank” comedians by race and gender. “I think gay dudes are funnier than white chicks,” Gillis said. “White chicks are literally the bottom. [Comedian] Ali Wong is making it so Asian chicks are funnier than white chicks.”
Shortly after his controversial comments were unearthed, it was announced that Gillis had been dropped from NBC’s long-running sketch series.
“We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for SNL,” a spokesperson for the show said at the time.
“We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days,” they added. “The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”
Prior to his firing, Gillis addressed the backlash on social media. Describing himself as “a comedian who pushes boundaries,” he said: “If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you’re going to find a lot of bad misses.
“I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”
After his unceremonious exit from SNL, Gillis continued to make a name for himself in the stand-up comedy scene.
He self-released his own stand-up special on YouTube in 2021, before signing with Netflix to release his special, Beautiful Dogs, in 2023.
Gillis has since collaborated with Netflix on his popular two-season sitcom Tires, which he co-created and stars in alongside Steve Gerben and John McKeever. It follows a hapless auto‑repair shop manager (Gillis) whose earnest attempts to revive the struggling family franchise are constantly derailed by his trouble‑making cousin and the crew’s off‑color antics.
In February 2024, SNL made the divisive decision to invite him to host. During his opening monologue, he briefly touched on his dubious history, joking: “If you don’t know who I am, please don’t Google that.”
He returned a second time to host the show this past March. His second opening monologue saw him joke about Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Bill Cosby, and comparing liberals to famous Star Wars villains. “You guys are pretty liberal here. Look, I understand being liberal, dude, it feels good. It’s powerful. It’s too powerful, dude. It’s like the Sith. You, like, lose yourself,” he said, laughing.
The jokes landed flat with the live studio audience and online, where critics labeled his performance “disastrous.”
Currently, Gillis is touring around the U.S., bringing his latest stand-up routine to major cities, including Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; and Orlando, Florida.
Next month, however, in between stops in San Jose, California, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Gillis will take the stage at the 2025 ESPY Awards, which recognize major athletic achievements, unforgettable moments, and honor the leading performers and performances.
“I’m excited to be at The ESPYS this year,” Gillis said in a statement. “I like sports so this should be a good time.”
“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,” said Craig Lazarus, ESPN vice president and executive producer of 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.”
The ESPYs help to raise awareness and funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the charity founded by ESPN and the late basketball coach Jim Valvano in 1993.
Last year, Serena Williams hosted the event, making her the first Black female athlete to host the ceremony. Japanese MLB star Shohei Ohtani, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen, and WNBA star Caitlin Clark were among the athletes honored at the 2024 ceremony.
The nominations for this year’s awards have not yet been announced, though awards will be handed out to men’s and women’s athletes for Best Breakthrough Athlete, Best Comeback Athlete, Best Team, Best Championship Performance, and Best NFL Player.
The Wednesday, July 16 show, presented by popular sports channel ESPN, will take place at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It will also stream live on ESPN+. Fans will be able to stream it on-demand the next day on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
