Shane Gillis (Photo via Twitter)
Shane Gillis was in rare form on Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles Dolby Theatre crowd knew what they were getting when Gillis stepped up to host the 2025 ESPYs.

The WNBA found itself as the butt of many jokes on the night.

Gillis was midway through applauding standout achievements from the year in sports when he pivoted to New York basketball. He went right at the New York Liberty.

“And the New York Liberty. New York..classy town from north-east where they invented America. Oh wait, that’s also Philadelphia. It was nice to see a basketball team from New York win something.”

Gillis was clearly referring to the Liberty’s historic championship run in 2024 while landing a direct hit on the Knicks. The Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx in a thrilling five-game 2024 WNBA Finals series last fall.

He was just getting started.

Shane Gillis took aim at the entire WNBA in one foul swoop while he hosted the night’s events.

“4-time WNBA All-Star Brittany Hicks is here. Give it up for Brittany, everybody,” he said as the camera showed a woman in the crowd.

“I’m just joking around; that’s my friend’s wife, I knew none of you knew WNBA players,” he said.

Brutal.

Shane Gillis Also Mentioned Caitlin Clark

Nov 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Comedian Shane Gillis (M) looks on during the second quarter of action between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Host Shane Gillis brought his trademark brand of combative humor to the opening monologue of Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards.

There was perhaps no better example of this dynamic than his joke about the WNBA’s Caitlin Clark.

While the ESPYs named her WNBA Player of the Year, Gillis decided to take a major shot at her.

“It’s a big year for the WNBA. I love Caitlin Clark,” he said.

“Caitlin Clark, she and I have a lot in common. We’re both whites from the Midwest who have nailed a bunch of threes.”

He then added: “When Caitlin Clark 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.”

Fearne Cotton has broken her silence on split from husband Jesse Wood in her first TV interview since the breakup.

Joining Lorraine Kelly on Monday’s episode of the ITV show, the TV presenter, 43, also gave an health update after having two tumours removed from jaw.

Fearne announced her split from Jesse, the son of Rolling Stones bass guitarist Ronnie Wood, in December after 10 years of marriage.

She has since made swipes at Jesse and moved on with TV director Elliot Hegarty, with the pair having been seen kissing during a recent night out.

Fearne has had a difficult few months after undergoing surgery to remove two benign tumours from her jawline, just days before her split with Jesse emerged.

She told host Lorraine: ‘It’s all very amicable and kids are doing great. I am in a very good place.’place.’

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Fearne Cotton has broken her silence on split from husband Jesse Wood in her first TV interview since the breakup

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Fearne announced her split from Jesse, the son of Rolling Stones bass guitarist Ronnie Wood , in December after 10 years of marriage (both pictured in February 2024)

Discussing her recent surgery, she added: ‘I feel very grateful to have completely recovered.

‘I feel really good. I have a lot of people reaching out who have had the same thing.’

Davina McCall, 56, announced in November she’d been diagnosed with a colloid cyst, a rare type of benign brain tumour, and has supported Fearne.

She continued: ‘Everyone needs a Davina. She’s been amazing, weird that we had the same health thing going on at the same time. She’s so calming and we speak every day. She is just the best

It comes after Fearne has seemingly made another thinly-veiled dig at her ex-husband as she gushed that she is the happiest she’s ever been in a positive update.

Speaking to Scott Mills on his BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, Fearne gushed that she is ‘really happy’ and is ‘springing out of bed in the morning ready for life’.

Scott, who has known Fearne for 25 years, said he has never seen her ‘more positive or happier’, prompting Fearne to agree and reply: ‘Yeah I feel great!’