Shane Gillis took aim at Bill Belichick’s controversial romance with Jordon Hudson as he hosted the ESPY Awards on Wednesday night.
Belichick, 73, and Hudson, 24, went public with their relationship last year, and have often made headlines for their 49 year age-gap.
Standing on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, comedian Gillis became the latest person to poke fun at the couple, and began his joke with a reference to MLB star Shohei Ohtani.
“Shohei is a once in a generation talent. No one’s been able to do what he’s done at so many positions – pitcher, hitter, and bookie,” he said, referring to Ohtani’s former interpreter’s $17million fraud and gambling scheme.
Gillis then set his sights on Belichick and Hudson, who earlier this year made headlines with an awkward interview.
“A ‘Bookie’ is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bedtime,’ he continued, sparking laughter in the room.
“They do ‘The very horny caterpillar,’ ‘The little engine that could but needed a pill first,’ and of course, ‘Good night boobs.’ That’s my favorite one.”
Gillis went on to suggest that he wasn’t ‘trashing’ the former New England Patriots coach with his jokes.
“Also, I’m not trashing Bill Belichick,” he continued.
“He is 73 years old and dating a hot 24-year-old. People are criticizing him.
“What happened to this country? 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.”
The comedian’s final quip drew a gasp from the audience, and saw him put the blame on Disney for allowing the joke to air.
“They let me do it. This is Disney. They allowed that,” Gillis said, with a chuckle.
“Yeah, we should’ve taken that out. I had doubts going into that. That didn’t work all week.”
Gillis is not the first high-profile host to take a shot at Belichick and Hudson’s relationship.
At the NFL Awards in February, Snoop Dogg left the couple visibly stunned with a joke about their age difference.
“I’ve been a football fan for a long, long time,” the rapper said.
“I remember back when the Cowboys were good. I remember back when the Chiefs were bad. And I remember, what was it, Bill Belichick’s girlfriend wasn’t even born yet.”
Gillis, meanwhile, made sure to pick on a range of other sporting stars at the ESPYs.
He made jokes at the expense of Shedeur Sanders, Simone Biles and Caitlin Clark, on a night that the latter was named the WNBA‘s best player.
Fellow basketball star and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the award Best Male Athlete, beating the likes of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Ohtani and Super Bowl champion Saquon Barkley.
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