Jimmy Kimmel Didn’t See a ‘Problem’ with His Lie that Charlie Kirk’s Killer was Part of the ‘MAGA Gang’
Disney late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel said he didn’t see what the “problem” was with his comments about slain conservative icon and free speech martyr Charlie Kirk and blamed “right-wing media networks” for the backlash he received, saying conservative journalists “intentionally” and “maliciously misrepresented” his comments. controversial remarks.
“I didn’t think there was a big problem, you know? I just saw it as a distortion on the part of some right-wing media networks, and I aimed to correct it,” Kimmel said of his comments on Kirk’s assassination during an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw for Bloomberg Screen Time.
“Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, that’s no problem,’ and then it turns into a big problem, and sometimes it goes the other way, where you think, ‘Uh oh, that’s going to be a problem,’ and no one really notices.”
Shaw then asked Kimmel “at what point did you realize this was a problem?” » to which ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! The host replied, “I think when they stopped the show,” prompting laughter from audience members.
“Did you feel like your initial comments were misinterpreted? » Shaw asked, to which Kimmel replied, “I didn’t mean to, I did. It was intentional and, I think, misinterpreted, yes.”
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Notably, less than a week after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Kimmel used his show to tell millions of grieving Americans that one of them probably killed the man they were mourning.
The late night host had falsely suggested Jimmy Kimmel Live! that the killer may have been part of the “MAGA gang” and mocked President Donald Trump’s response, which included orders to lower American flags to half-mast.
ABC, Disney and their affiliates responded by briefly withdrawing Jimmy Kimmel Live! across all of their stations, with broadcast subsidiary Nexstar citing Kimmel’s “offensive and insensitive” comments “at a critical moment in our national political discourse,” and emphasizing the company’s desire to “move toward resuming respectful and constructive dialogue.”
After returning to the air, Kimmel was criticized for his unapologetic monologue on the subject, and was accused of spinning the narrative “in a typical left-wing way” to portray himself as a victim.
Kirk’s murder shook the world, triggering an outpouring of grief for the Turning Point USA founder, who became a martyr for free speech on September 10 after he was murdered while trying to have an open and respectful dialogue with a Utah Valley University student.
The reactions of leftists, meanwhile, sent a second shockwave across the world, as people witnessed the shocking depravity and degradation of society via what also served as a major moment of unmasking and watershed: the left celebrating and justifying the assassination of a martyr to free speech – simply because his views differed from their own.
Kimmel’s controversial remarks amid ghoulish left-wing celebrations didn’t help matters, as he channeled cognitive dissent from other left-leaning media figures, who refused to even consider the idea that Kirk was likely murdered by someone who shared their political views.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and @ARmastrangeloand on Instagram.
