Jimmy Kimmel on Monday addressed the absurdity of right-wing media blaming him for Rudy Giuliani's hospitalization. The late-night host noted that he anticipated President Donald Trump's loyal MAGA followers would find a way to connect his jokes to the former New York mayor's illness.
Kimmel's Vampire Joke Sparks Controversy
Kimmel often jokes about Giuliani being a vampire, and last week he quipped that Giuliani "rose from the grave" to record his podcast. Days later, Giuliani was hospitalized with pneumonia, prompting figures in right-wing media to attack Kimmel. "Sure enough, one of these podcast bozos points to a joke I made about Rudy on Thursday, about him being a vampire, and then suggests I might actually have some inside knowledge of what's going on in Trumptown there," Kimmel said.
Newsmax Panel Slams Kimmel
Kimmel played footage of a Newsmax panel criticizing his joke. "It's not funny," one panelist declared. "He's just really not funny," another agreed. "It's abhorrent, what he's doing under the gauze of comedy." When the camera returned to Kimmel, he was standing under a giant gauze held up by his writers, mocking the criticism.
"The gauze gives me psychic abilities. This is how I work: Every day in the morning, I wake up, I make coffee, and then I look into the future to see which events have yet to occur," he explained sarcastically. "And then we write jokes, but we write jokes that we know are going to make trouble."
Referencing Past Controversies
Kimmel referenced not only the Giuliani joke but also a previous crack about Melania Trump. Last month, he said the first lady was glowing "like an expectant widow" during a mock roast before the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Days later, after a gunman tried to enter the actual dinner, President Trump and Melania called for ABC to fire Kimmel.
Kimmel Wishes Giuliani Well
Despite the outrage, Kimmel expressed goodwill toward Giuliani. "For the record, I hope Rudy Giuliani lives another hundred years. He earned that outside the dildo shop," he said, referencing one of the most poorly planned news conferences in history. "That was the funniest thing any person has done this century."
