Jimmy Kimmel Gets the Boot Again, This Time Because of His Affiliations
Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! just got the boot again, and this time it’s because of his affiliations or lack thereof, depending on your perspective.
In late April 2023, FOX News made a bombshell announcement that sent shockwaves through the news media and political arenas. In a statement released on April 24, the network announced the termination of conservative cable news host and political commentator Tucker Carlson, effective immediately–a decision reportedly made by FOX owner Rupert Murdoch.
“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” FOX News said in a statement. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” It was later revealed that Carlson learned about his termination only minutes before the news was made public. As if it had been orchestrated prior to the announcements, CNN’s Don Lemon was terminated the same day FOX dismissed Carlson.
That evening, in true late-night show fashion, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel talked about the terminations in his opening monologue during a live broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live! His monologue was interrupted, however, by an alleged breaking news story from Guillermo Rodriguez, who usually delivers the news during Kimmel’s show.
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“We have some breaking news,” said Rodriguez. “After twenty years on the air, ABC TV has decided to part ways with its host, Jimmy Kimmel.” Rodriguez followed the announcement by telling the fan-favorite host not to let the door hit him on his way out.
Clearly, the fake news was intended to be humorous, and there was no truth to it. But earlier this week, Jimmy Kimmel got the proverbial boot again, and this time, it wasn’t fake news.
On Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a new list of sanctions against 500 Americans who are now subject to travel restrictions, as well as financial restrictions, in Russia. The latest batch of sanctions includes many well-known U. S. media personalities, including Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert. According to The Wrap, a common denominator among the sanctioned U. S. media figures is their vocal criticism of former President Donald Trump.
The New York Times announced the fresh round of sanctions in a post on Sunday evening, describing the list as a “tit-for-tat retaliation for the latest curbs imposed by the United States.” The article points out that Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be “adopting perceived enemies of former President Donald J. Trump as his own.”
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Other names on the newly-released list of sanctioned individuals include Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General responsible for suing Mr. Trump for fraud, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and Michael Byrd, a Capitol Police officer involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U. S. Capitol that interrupted a joint session of the U. S. Congress.
“None of [the individuals sanctioned] has anything to do with Russia policy,” the Times wrote, though that doesn’t mean that there are only critics of Mr. Trump named on the list, as it also includes Republican Senator J. D. Vance, as well as other supporters of the former President.
What does this mean for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel? Well, it will have no effect on him unless he’s planning to take his family on a trip to see the Kremlin, Mt. Elbrus, Lake Baikal in Siberia, or Saint Basil’s Cathedral, as he–along with 499 other people named on the list–are now banned from Russia.
For a complete list of newly-sanctioned individuals who made the list distributed by Russia’s Foreign Ministry, click here.
