Additional Coverage:
- Jimmy Kimmel slams ‘bozos’ blaming him for Rudy Giuliani’s hospitalization after resurfaced joke (themirror.com)
Jimmy Kimmel Takes Aim at Critics Blaming Him for Rudy Giuliani’s Hospitalization
On the May 4 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host addressed the recent backlash following his joke about Rudy Giuliani that resurfaced after the former New York City mayor was hospitalized. Giuliani, 81, is currently in “critical but stable” condition in a Florida hospital being treated for pneumonia.
Kimmel, 58, devoted much of his opening monologue to pushing back against those blaming him for Giuliani’s health issues. “When I read the news, I really thought, ‘I wonder if they’ll try to blame this on me,’” Kimmel told viewers. Sure enough, he noted, some commentators seized on a joke he made about Giuliani being a vampire and suggested he had insider knowledge about the situation in “Trumptown.”
This comes amid ongoing tensions between Kimmel and former President Donald Trump. Trump recently called Kimmel a “low-life” and warned that ABC was “in great jeopardy” after the host’s controversial joke about First Lady Melania Trump.
Kimmel’s jab at Giuliani came on April 30, when he quipped that the ex-mayor “rose from the grave” to comment on the latest developments in Kimmel’s feud with Trump – a feud reignited by the earlier joke comparing Melania to “an expectant widow.”
During Monday’s show, Kimmel also played clips of conservative media figures criticizing the timing and taste of his joke. One panelist on Newsmax questioned, “Is this supposed to be comedy?” while another called Kimmel’s bit “abhorrent” and accused him of hiding behind comedy as a shield.
Kimmel fired back with humor, standing beneath a giant piece of gauze held by assistants wearing Groucho Marx glasses, quipping, “I’m under the gauze of comedy right now.” He added that the “gauze” even grants him psychic powers to foresee future events and craft jokes guaranteed to stir controversy.
Despite the jokes, Kimmel expressed genuine goodwill toward Giuliani, wishing him “another 100 years” of life and recalling the memorable 2020 moment when Giuliani held a press conference outside a Philadelphia landscaping business adjacent to an adult store – a scene Kimmel called “the funniest thing any person has done this century.”
The current round of friction between Kimmel and Trump began after the late-night host’s April 23 joke about Melania Trump during a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner segment, days before the actual event was disrupted by a shooting incident. Kimmel’s quip described Melania as having “a glow like an expectant widow,” which sparked outrage from the Trumps.
Kimmel responded to the backlash by emphasizing that his joke was a “very light roast” and not a call for violence. He has long spoken out against gun violence and urged a reduction in hateful rhetoric, suggesting that the Trump family could benefit from such a conversation.
The host also addressed Giuliani’s harsh criticism of him, including the ex-mayor’s on-air insults calling Kimmel “one of the most distasteful human beings” and “an incompetent jacka–.” Kimmel retorted by pointing to Giuliani’s own embarrassing moments, including the infamous press conference outside the adult store and other public missteps, questioning if Giuliani had family members who could help him.
Through humor and candor, Kimmel continues to navigate the turbulent waters of political satire amid ongoing personal attacks and public controversies.