Shane Gillis’ ESPY Monologue Proves Woke Is On The Run

Shane Gillis hosted ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards ceremony, better known as the ESPYs, and he did not hold back in his opening monologue.

He mocked the audience by calling out four-time all-star Brittany Hicks for being in attendance, only to reveal that Brittany is actually a friend’s wife, not a player, saying, “I knew none of you knew WNBA players.” He claimed Joe Rogan wanted him to host so he could capture NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, as Rogan thinks he’s an alien. He followed that with a joke about Donald Trump wanting him to capture Juan Soto for the same reason. 

He referred to Simone Biles as a leprechaun. He riffed on Caitlin Clark with a bit about how, after she 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.” (If you haven’t seen the clip that inspired that one, it’s worth 23 seconds of your time.) In short, Gillis went on ESPN, a network owned by Disney — neither of which has wholly embraced the vibe shift — and not only didn’t pander, he showed that wokeness is on the run. 

This is notable because ESPN has been oddly resistant to the fact that it’s no longer 2020. The network may have toned down its coverage a bit since 2022, when it was still all in on overt signaling, but as recently as last year, a host was fired in part for her belief in biology. And parent company Disney apparently still thinks it’s 2020. The FCC opened an investigation into potentially discriminatory practices just this past March. Let’s also not forget the Snow White debacle. 

The entertainment companies seem to be learning the lesson, albeit slowly and belatedly. While the audience didn’t enthusiastically respond to most of Gillis’ opening monologue, the fact that Disney and ESPN chose to go with him and with prewritten, and thus preapproved, jokes shows they’re starting to play catch-up to the rest of society. 

Yes, there are still many out there who are all in on wokeness. You mostly find them impotently shrieking on social media. In the real world, we’re over that. We’re tired of cancel culture and constantly policing our thoughts and language to avoid being the target of such a campaign. In part, it’s because the damage is done. If someone can find you on Google, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to finding something “offensive” you’ve said or done. 

Also, enough people have suffered cancellation — Shane Gillis, for one — that people are waking up to the fact that you can never be woke enough to avoid the mob. If it’s eventually going to come after you regardless, it’s better to lean into who you are and amplify it rather than attempting to placate the implacable. 

Which is what society needs. We need a mass rejection of nonsense. We have to strip the power that online outrage has over us as flesh and blood people. We have to be willing to tell jokes, including ones that don’t land, but that actually point out the absurdities of life without consideration of how they’ll be treated politically. 

Andrew Breitbart famously noted that politics is downstream of culture, but what we’re starting to see is that those in charge of the culture have lost their ability to shape it. Instead, they’re having to respond. Disney, especially, is learning it cannot steer the current anymore. Instead, it’s having to listen to the audience, who will just exit the ride rather than continue to be lectured. 

This is why Gillis hosting the ESPYs was a success, regardless of how well his act landed. (These writers at People were not fans, for example, though at least they referred to the monologue as brave. One assumes they simply forgot to use the more correct woke formulation of “stunning and brave” rather than omitting the “stunning” part.)

Regardless, whether you loved, hated, or were ambivalent about his open, you have to admit that in 2025, it was not Gillis who was “stunning and brave,” but Disney and ESPN who deserve a modicum of praise for their decision to book him in the first place. The vibe has shifted, and our would-be commissars are finally starting to catch on. 

Richard Cromwell is a writer and senior contributor at The Federalist. He lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife, three daughters, and two crazy dogs. Co-host of the podcast Coffee & Cochon, you can find him on Facebook and Twitter, though you should probably avoid using social media.