Jimmy Kimmel delivers brutal putdown as JD Vance weighs into suspension saga
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel clapped back at JD Vance Monday after the vice president attempted to claim Kimmel’s short-lived ousting was a result of poor ratings and not his own administration’s threats — a claim Kimmel called a “fairytale even a five-year-old wouldn’t believe.”
Kimmel’s ABC show was briefly suspended this month after the late-night host made comments about President Donald Trump's reaction to the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, and after Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr threatened to pull ABC’s license: “We could do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said.
Last Friday, Vance appeared on Fox News to defend his administration’s role in Kimmel’s ousting, claiming Carr had no involvement in the show’s suspension and blaming the incident on Kimmel himself for being “not funny because his ratings aren’t very good.”
Calling Vance’s comments “bull----,” Kimmel proceeded to rip into Vance for what he characterized as his hypocrisy in bringing up ratings.
“My ratings aren't very good? Last time I checked, your ratings were somewhere between a hair in your salad and chlamydia,” Kimmel said.
“In three-and-a-half years, I'm not the one who's going to be doing mascara tutorials on YouTube. How did we wind up with a president and a vice president who wear more makeup than Kylie Jenner and Lady Gaga combined?”
Indeed, Vance’s favorability among Americans has continued to sour, having started off his tenure with a net approval rating of -8, with 43% of voters viewing him favorably and 51% unfavorably. As of Aug. 1, Vance’s favorability tanked further, dropping to a net approval of -12.
Despite Kimmel’s show being restored, and broadcast now, he said, to “100% of the country,” the impacts of the incident continue to linger. Disney shareholders have staged a revolt of sorts, demanding answers for Kimmel’s ousting and alleging the suspension may have been a violation of their rights as shareholders.