‘The Media’s Trying to Make Jimmy Kimmel Their Charlie Kirk,’ According to Greg Gutfeld

When a news event occurs like Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension from his eponymous series, you’re going to want to know what his peers have to say about it. Tonight was the first time Desi Jon, Stephen, the other Jimmy and Seth all got their first opportunity to respond on air. Greg hasn’t shut up about it for more than 24 hours.

Though he’s not usually mentioned in the same breath as the other guys, Greg is Greg Gutfeld, host of Gutfeld! (their exclamation point, not mine) on Fox News. The show airs weeknights starting at 10 p.m. ET — earlier even than The Daily Show — and routinely surpasses them in the ratings. Gutfeld was handed a note about Kimmel during his taping on Wednesday, September 17th, and gave his guest Drew Pinsky the chance to gloat about Pinsky’s former KROQ colleague Kimmel, which he did: “The fact that they’re only representing one point of view and it is so far from reality, they won’t let reality come in, there’s going to be a consequence. I’m delighted to see that. I’m sorry, but I’m delighted.”

Gutfeld continued his campaign on The Five: “I hate to tell you buddy, but the guy who shot and killed Charlie Kirk was more likely a fan of yours.”

But don’t worry, Gutfeld had more Kimmel material for the Thursday, September 18th episode of Gutfeld!. “We’d like to welcome our newest viewer, James Kimmel, out of Los Angeles!” said Gutfeld, opening the show. “Good to see ya! Close your robe.” 

After a fat joke about media reporter Brian Stelter, a fat joke about Joy Behar, three fat jokes about a non-famous woman who was fired from Ball State University for her remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murder, a fat joke about Michelle Obama and a cosmetic surgery joke about Nancy Pelosi, Gutfeld launched into his monologue about Kimmel, repeating his claim that alleged Kirk shooter Tyler Robinson is a probable Kimmel fan. 

“It makes sense for ABC to suspend Kimmel for his ethical lapses or cancel him for bad ratings,” Gutfeld went on to say. “The FCC gave Jimmy and his pathetic supporters the drug that they love most: grievance. Charlie is no longer the victim; they are. At least, in their minds.” 

Since an illustrative montage of commentators speaking about Kimmel’s suspension included footage of Stelter, another fat joke at his expense ensued.

Gutfeld claimed that contributors to centrist cable news channels had gotten used to having a “free pass for their propaganda”: “But times have changed. Charlie changed them. His death has reset this country, and now people are actually paying attention to their words, ‘cause we saw what those words did to a fine young man.” 

Gutfeld failed to offer specifics on which words, or whose, he thought had led the shooter to fire on Kirk.

“It’s interesting how the people who always claimed words equal violence now say, ‘Oh, no, it’s just words,’” Gutfeld continued. “But I’m not sure they’re really upset about this. Everything for them is always a performance. And now this drama gets to be about them, and not about the like-minded leftist who murdered a man over free speech. Don’t be fooled: The media’s trying to make Jimmy Kimmel their Charlie Kirk, just to get the stink off them.” 

It’s kind of impossible to respond to any of this from inside the spiral of hypocrisy no one on the right is ever going to acknowledge. No one in the White House is going to admit that for an FCC commissioner to use his position to make threats against an artist is a violation of its own executive order. Gutfeld isn’t going to admit that he’s using emotion and feelings to manipulate his viewers in exactly the way he has complained about “the Left” doing. He’s also not going to hear anyone who says that if he objects to Kimmel’s characterization of Robinson’s politics based on a lack of information — the remark that was the pretext for Kimmel’s suspension — he probably shouldn’t do exactly the same thing from the opposite side of the aisle. 

An hour of jokes about “Indians” being the first trans people (per guest Jim Breuer), Kamala Harris being a “DEI hire” (Gutfeld) and whether “they should make antifa an identity” (Gutfeld again)? Gutfeld should be the one to make a public apology, to me, personally.

And yet if Donald Trump gets his way and NBC’s late-night hosts get “indefinitely suspended” too, by next year Gutfeld! is going to be the only hour-long show left in the category.