Celebrity willing to lose career to attack Trump voters
Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday admitted he is willing to lose his career rather than stop mocking Trump voters. The television host said he has already lost half his audience due to his attacks on Republicans, a sacrifice he was willing to make.
Kimmel made the remarks during an episode of the Naked Lunch podcast hosted by Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal.
“10 years ago, among Republicans, I was the most popular talk show host, at least according to the research that they did,” Kimmel said, adding that his audience began dwindling significantly after he began bashing Trump and lecturing Trump voters. Needless to say, the ABC network was not pleased.
“Does ABC ever say to you, ‘Hey, could you not just attack this side and lay off a little bit? Cause we are gonna lose those people?’” Rosenthal asked Kimmel.
But Kimmel said he warned network executives that they could either let him attack Republicans or find another host.
“But I just said, ‘Listen, I get it. I mean, I don’t disagree. I mean, you’re right. I have lost half of my fans — maybe more than that,’” he responded.
“And I get it, if that’s what they want to do, I just said, ‘Listen, if that’s what you wanna do, I understand and I don’t begrudge you for it, but I’m not going to do that. So, you know, if you want somebody else to host the show, then that’s fine. That’s okay with me. I’m just not gonna do it like that,’” he explained, adding that ABC ultimately caved and allowed him to continue trashing Trump and his supporters.
“They knew I was serious. I mean, you know … I couldn’t live with myself,” he said.
Rosenthal responded, saying that Kimmel and fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, who also relentlessly attack Republicans, are doing “a public service.”
“You’re the guys who make us feel like we’re not alone,” Rosenthal said.
Kimmel then said that he didn’t see it as a public service so much as just something he needed to do, and that the American flag doesn’t belong to Trump voters.
“You know, I love this country, too,” he said. “I mean, you know, that flag doesn’t belong to them. This is ours. And when I see somebody coming in and ruining it, I’m gonna say something about it. That’s it. That’s as simple as that.”
“I want to be on the air when Donald Trump goes to jail. I still believe, even after living through the O.J. [Simpson] trial, that justice triumphs in America and I know there are a billion different examples to the contrary,” Kimmel added. “[But] how can you commit this many crimes and be this unethical and be this terrible and get away with it?”
