Jimmy Kimmel has responded to supporters of Donald Trump who branded him a “hypocrite” for criticising the current US President, given his behaviour on ’90s comedy series The Man Show.
The late-night talk show host has been a vocal opponent of Trump, making jokes about him while hosting the Oscars in 2024, and offering an emotional lament the night after the politician won the 2024 Presidential election.
“It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country go,” he said, later concluding: “It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him, too, you just don’t realise it yet”.
Online, Trump supporters have pointed to his hosting The Man Show, a comedy sketch series that would at one point proclaim itself “a joyous celebration of chauvinism”. Its outdated content (such as a segment at the end of the show titled “Girls On Trampolines”) and views are argued by detractors to be at odds with his current progressive political views.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Kimmel addressed the criticism, saying it was “fair game” for people to call him out on it. “I think it’s kind of funny,” he said, “because the very people who are using those videos as an example of why I’m a horrible person were probably the biggest fans of the show at that time”.
He went on to explain: “We did the show a little tongue-in-cheek. I mean, if you really watch the show, we are making fun of ourselves through almost the whole show. It was not meant to be taken literally that men are superior to women, but for some people, it was. … But you can pull things out of context and then they are taken literally. And that’s just how it goes”.
In February, Jimmy Kimmel commented on Will Smith’s return to award shows, saying the artist “would be forgiven” if he slapped “rodent” Kanye West at the Grammys.
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