Jimmy Fallon's 'weird take' on Jimmy Kimmel's show being axed sparks huge debate
Following the news that fellow talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel's live show has been axed by ABC over comments he made about Charlie Kirk's assassination, Jimmy Fallon has spoken out.
For anyone not in the loop with Kimmel's remarks, on Monday (14 Sept), he reflected on the killing of the political activist and friend of Donald Trump, kicking off with: "We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and with everything they can to score political points from it."
Later during the episode, the presenter referenced a clip of Trump being asked by press how he was 'holding up' in the wake of Kirk's death, after which the President sparked surprise by immediately turning the conversation to his ongoing White House renovations.
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"He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction," Kimmel, 57, joked of this.
"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?"
The comedian also referenced a different clip of the Republican leader, where he once again brings up his construction work after being asked about Kirk - the death of whom 22-year-old Tyler Robinson has since been charged,
"Oh, when I heard [about Kirk’s shooting]? I was in the midst of building a great... for 150 years, they’ve wanted a ballroom at the White House," Trump went on, after which Kimmel told his audience: "There’s something wrong with him, there really is. Who thinks like that?"
The following day, ABC producers 'indefinitely' pulled the talk show, with Nexstar Media Group - the largest owner of US television stations - also vowing to no longer air it.
Sinclair spokespeople - the channel's biggest affiliate group - also spoke out, claiming more needs to be done to reprimand the presenter, and demanding Kimmel issue a 'direct apology' to Kirk's family.
Kimmel was also told to 'make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA', the latter referencing Kirk's organisation of which he's was co-founder.
The presenter's 'cancellation' has since sparked mass concerns about censorship in the US - something Barack Obama also mentioned in an emotional social media post yesterday.
And hours later, TV host Jimmy Fallon also spoke out, making a series of jokes during the most recent episode of his show about television producers preventing presenters from freely speaking.
Kicking things off last night, Fallon began: "Well guys, the big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everybody thinking 'WTF'. What's going on?"
Following a bout of laughter from his live audience, the host continued: "This morning I woke up to a hundred text messages from my dad saying, 'I'm sorry they cancelled your show'. I go, 'That's not me, that's Jimmy Kimmel'.
"But to be honest with you all, I don't know what's going on, and no one does."
Fallon went on to claim, however, that he '[does] know Jimmy Kimmel', and that 'he's a decent, funny and loving guy', before finally adding: "I hope he comes back."
The 50-year-old then summarised: "Yeah, a lot of people are worried that we won't be able to keep saying what we wanna say, or that we'll be censored, but I'm going to cover the President's trip to the UK just like I normally would."
For reference, Trump has spent the week enjoying his second state visit to the UK, having first been hosted by King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton on Wednesday, before meeting with the country's Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to talk politics yesterday.
"Here we go," Fallon continued. "Well guys, President Trump just wrapped up his three-day trip to the UK, and he..."
During this time, a comedy 'bit' about censorship occurred, whereby the presenter's microphone was switched off and a voice over played saying 'looked incredible handsome' about Trump, whilst Fallon mimed.
He went on to joke of the 79-year-old politician whilst gesturing to a length between his legs: "As always, his tie was as..."
The voiceover went on to speak over Fallon, adding instead, 'exactly the right length'.
"And his face was..." the host continued of Trump's notorious tan, with the voiceover saying, 'a colour that exists in nature'.
"And his hair looked..." Fallon went on, inviting the voiceover to say, 'better than Conrad's in The Summer I Turned Pretty'.
The comedy star also went on to reference protests in the UK over Trump's arrival, telling his audience: "[They] managed to project images onto the side of Windsor Castle of Trump standing next to his good friend Jeff...".
The latter would have referenced images of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose crimes critics believe father-of-five Trump may have had knowledge of or possible involved in - though, he's ceaselessly denied these allegations.
Muting Fallon before he could add 'Epstein', the voiceover then jibed, 'Goldblum', instead.
"Even though his administration still insists that he's not in the..." the presenter continues, before the voiceover adds again, 'Goldblum', and Fallon adds 'files - which we all know is absolute bull...', and the voiceover says, 'true'.
"Anyway, to sum it up, President Trump is..." Fallon finally says, before the voiceover says over him, 'making America great again by restoring our national reputation, reinvigorating our economy, and rebuilding our military'.
As the host angrily mimes, the censoring voice adds: "I nearby nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize."
Unsurprisingly, Fallon's comments have sparked an even further debate online about the future of television.
"Lowkey that was pretty good, but weird take to just want to divide America more," one partial critic hit out on X.
"They’re gonna pull jimmy fallon’s show off the air after this," another predicted.
A third went on to add: "At least Jimmy Kimmel was brave enough to say it."
Topics: Jimmy Kimmel, Celebrity, US News, TV And Film, Politics, Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump
Rhianna Benson