As my colleague Nick Arama documented, Jimmy Kimmel's fauxpology for his remarks about the alleged assassin of TPUSA co-founder and CEO Charlie Kirk was heard last night, minus over 200 affiliate stations that refused to air it. Kimmel managed to eke out some crocodile tears and make his voice break as he explained that it was, "never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man... For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset... I don't think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents ANYONE. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn't. Ever."
Sure, Jan. Arama wrote:
Kimmel did comment on the controversy, but he did not apologize for what he said, which implied a MAGA connection to Charlie Kirk's assassination.
Read More: Watch: Kimmel Makes It About Himself, Delivers Emotional Non-Apology on His Return
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The left, and some on the right, are already acting like the performative clapping seals that they are, as if Kimmel did something stunning and brave. From my time being in Hollywood and Hollywood-adjacent, I analyzed what probably went down. It was "cheaper to keep him."
Bit of a language warning:
Reportedly, Kimmel was at the end of his current contract and was about to mount new contract negotiations with Disney/ABC. Kimmel was already on thin ice because he wanted to be an activist rather than a comedian, and this was yet another controversy that Disney/ABC had to tamp down. Kimmel had ceased being funny (if he ever was), and his low ratings reflected this.
Jimmy Kimmel’s future at ABC was up in the air even before his incendiary TV comments, multiple sources told Page Six.
The multimillionaire late-night host had just months left on his deal with Disney and was set to start negotiations with bigwigs later this year.
However, we’re told that ABC may have been getting ready to push him out after this season.
Sources said the network could’ve used the furor over his outspoken nightly monologues to pull the plug early and avoid another year of Kimmel’s controversial comments.
One insider said Disney chief Bob Iger “doesn’t want to be at war with Donald Trump right now, just as he has stabilized Disney.”
“I don’t know what they are planning, but maybe the uproar is so loud Jimmy can’t come back.”
So, Kimmel's comments claiming Kirk's alleged killer was MAGA were a convenient excuse by Disney/ABC to push him out the door. However, letting him sit out a lucrative contract and opening the company up to a potentially costly lawsuit was also prohibitive. Then you have the stupid progressives moaning about free speech and fascism, the bad PR, the cancellation of subscriptions to Hulu and Disney Plus, and the death threats against the network, and it all added up to letting Kimmel come back. But make no mistake, they still have him by the short hairs.
Hence, the non-apology apology.
TPUSA spokesman and Kirk's lifelong friend Andrew Kolvet was unimpressed and called out Kimmel's song and dance for what it was: self-serving cowardice.
Yes, Jimmy got emotional. So what. He’s emotional for himself because he almost torched his entire career.
Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils. What he’s really saying is that he still thinks it’s fair game to slander conservatives. He would rather advance his own political and cultural agenda than confront the truth. The truth is that his own side has been fanning the flames of political assassinations for years. The truth is that someone on the left picked up a gun and murdered someone on the right who advocated for peaceful debate.
It’s critical that liars admit they lied. There can be no restoration without that. Anything short of that is a fake and scripted cry line designed to endear him to his fans, not to make right the wrong he committed.
Mic drop. Kimmel could have used his platform to extend a true olive branch with a genuine apology to half the country, whom he further pushed into the crosshairs of the violent left with his lying commentary. He didn't.
Kimmel could have used this moment to expose the progressive left and elected officials like Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and AOC (D-NY), who are still fomenting violence, and urged them to stop. He didn't.
Instead, Kimmel used manufactured emotionality and weasel words to make it appear as though he is repentant, when in fact he is simply buying himself time. The news cycle is short, and people's memories are even shorter, and Kimmel knows this. He is using it to his advantage in order to get himself a lucrative exit package from Disney/ABC or for them to offer him another contract extension. Kimmel is still the same piss-poor late-night host with low ratings, and the late-night format is a dying model that is costly to produce – look at Stephen Colbert, who is being shuffled off his program into a spot on another CBS/Paramount network show.
As my colleague Jim Thompson wrote:
Maybe the show is hoping to get eyes on the target because news about Colbert generates interest like a car wreck generates gawkers. “Elsbeth” is about as popular as 7/11 Sushi – coming in 79th on TV. I don’t know about you, but this seems to be a nice fit for Colbert. The Late Show is a dismal ratings failure, and Colbert has been faking it for years, so this should be a seamless transition.
In the end, Kimmel's fauxpology achieves little. Kimmel can now look forward to the permanent boot from his late-night slot with lots of cash in tow, or being reduced to a punch line that he has failed to deliver for decades.
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