Comedian Shane Gillis opened Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards with a deliberately provocative monologue that mocked targets ranging from President Donald Trump and the still-sealed Jeffrey Epstein files to several high-profile athletes. Hosting the show for the first time, the 37-year-old took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and quickly tested Disney-owned ESPN’s broadcast boundaries. Gillis tricked the audience into applauding his friend’s wife, Brittany Hicks, by erroneously describing her as a “four-time WNBA All-Star,” then told the crowd he “knew none of you knew WNBA players.” He followed with a line that when Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark retires, she will work at a Waffle House so she can “continue fist-fighting Black women,” drawing audible groans. Other punchlines included joking that Trump wanted him to “capture” New York Mets slugger Juan Soto, teasing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as an “alien,” and riffing on 73-year-old Bill Belichick’s romance with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. The set prompted a mixed, often uneasy response inside the theater and an immediate backlash online. Former ESPN host Sarah Spain called the routine “hacky,” arguing that Gillis belittled women athletes during a milestone year for women’s sports. Outlets from Fox News to NBC documented the divided reaction, while supporters praised the performance as an antidote to what they view as increasingly sanitized awards shows. Gillis, who was fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 over previous offensive remarks, has since built a large stand-up following and a Netflix series. His latest high-profile booking underscores ESPN’s attempt to boost ratings with edgier comedy, even as it contends with the reputational risk of jokes that many viewers judged to be racist or misogynistic.