Jimmy Kimmel never thought he’d be here. But Kimmel has the skill to rise to this moment, at a jarring time in this country’s history as freedoms are under attack and democracy hangs on just by a thread.
On Tuesday’s return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” we were reminded of that. Kimmel struck the perfect tone, acknowledging the gravity of what had just happened, reminding his audience that both sides of the aisle should cherish and celebrate free speech — and then not pulling any punches in joking about what Donald Trump has been up to over the last few days. Political satire has been a late night staple since the dawn of the entire genre, and Kimmel was going to make sure it isn’t going anywhere.
“You had the feeling that this was an important moment,” said one audience member who attended the Tuesday taping. “It felt very cathartic, like, not everything is lost.” It was a good reminder that part of the promise of America has being able to speak without fear of government intimidation.
We all love Jimmy, but he never asked to be drafted to be the protector of the First Amendment and free speech in this nation. He’s a late night talk show host, not an activist. A comedian whose job is to simply poke fun at our nation’s elected leaders.
“This show is not important, what is important is we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Kimmel said.
But these days, just pointing out our government’s foibles makes you an enemy of the state. Kimmel found that out last week, but he’s not the only one. President Trump is still celebrating the impending disappearance of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” And he promises that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are next. Trump has the power of the FCC, the DOJ and other agencies ready to do his bidding — and last week, the administration came very close to getting what it wanted: The silence of one of the few prominent voices still poking fun at the madness coming out of Washington.
Let that sink in for a second: Talk show hosts — comedians whose main job is to crack audiences up and help a rotating cast of guests promote their latest projects — are so embedded in the craw of Trump that he’s demanding his agencies find a way to shut them up.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
“I just want to say how alarming it is to feel like late night is important,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” writer Louis Virtel said this week on his podcast. “Nobody takes this job thinking, ‘and you know why I decided to make jokes about, whatever, Melania Trump today? To make a difference.” On the one hand, Trump loves to bash the hosts as being low-rated no-talents — yet “he’s the one who is constantly bringing up every day how important these people’s speech is.”
Like many Angelenos, I’m old enough to remember when Kimmel was “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s “Kevin & Bean,” and waiting in line for the annual Christmas cassette that he helped produce. Trust me, “Jimmy the Sports Guy” wasn’t planning on becoming the national lightning rod for free speech — he started off his career by just wanting to be entertaining on the radio.
But Kimmel’s tenacity and talent was always there, even when he was loitering at stations in Phoenix and Los Angeles, waiting for his big break. After he made his way onto “Kevin & Bean” — famously, the morning show hosts had no idea their program director had even hired him — he quickly found success as the sidekick on “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” as comic relief on “Fox Sports Sunday” and then as one-half of “The Man Show” with Adam Corolla.
Still, it was a leap in 2003 when then-ABC Entertainment chairman Lloyd Braun somehow convinced Disney to hire Kimmel and launch an entirely new late night franchise. It was rough going at first, as the show struggled to book guests and wasn’t cleared in several major markets. But Kimmel grew into the role — and as social media came of age and video-sharing websites like YouTube launched, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was at the front of the pack creating viral moments and turning the show into must-share TV.
Kimmel was always personal on air — his family and friends were part of the show from the beginning, including the late Uncle Frank, Aunt Chippy, Cousin Sal and best friend-turned-band leader Cleto Escobedo Jr. Over the years, that meant sharing the story of his son Billy’s heart condition — and why he believed everyone deserves proper health care. As the nation faced tragedies like school shootings, Kimmel was open and honest with how tragic the news was — and how frustrating that there seemed to be no attempts to enact sensible ways to stop gun violence.
Often Kimmel would deliver those monologues with real tears in his eyes — which made him a further target of “f— your feelings” right wingers. That included Tuesday’s episode, where he noted how Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika “forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, that’s it a selfless act of grace forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward I hope it can be that.”
But first and foremost, Kimmel is about the comedy. Always has been. The long-running gags like his “feud” with Matt Damon. The practical jokes such as the ones he pulls on family members and celebs like John Krasinski. And as much as Trump doesn’t like it, Kimmel is simply finding ways to still laugh through all the darkness gripping our country.
When I last spoke to Kimmel in July, I shared optimistically that even as we see some of our rights stripped away, the one thing they hopefully can’t take away from us is our joy. And he pointed out that there were still plenty of things to have fun with even inside the Trump White House: “Today we learned that Trump’s nickname for Stephen Miller is ‘Weird Stephen,’” he told me that day. “Now, whether you like Trump or not, that’s a funny nickname to give a person. You must give credit where credit is due. So, a lot of horrible things are happening, but there are also some funny things happening. And I don’t know if it’s to keep us off balance or just how it goes with an inconsistent person, but I am able to find the humor in all this.”
And not only is Kimmel still all about making us laugh, but he continues to share his reverence for the craft of comedy. That’s why he adores icons like David Letterman, Howard Stern and the late Norman Lear, all of whom he’s had the chance to honor on his show.
On Tuesday, Kimmel posted a photo of himself with Lear (with whom he produced the series of specials “Live in Front of a Studio Audience”) along with the caption, “Missing this guy today.” Lear was a true hero — a WWII vet who fought fascism, then came home and built a career making America laugh while also tackling some of the most important issues of our time. Lear adored Kimmel, and he would have loved seeing the host back on his TV screen tonight.
Jimmy Kimmel didn’t think he’d be here. But I’m glad he still is.
From Variety US