Jimmy Kimmel Tears Into Fox & Friends Co-Host: 'You Phony Little Creep'
Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday fired back at Senator Bill Cassidy, as well as Fox & Friends‘ Brian Kilmeade, for belittling his impassioned health care monologue.
VIDEOSJimmy Kimmel Comes Down Hard on ‘Scam’ of a Health Care Bill
The ABC late-night host made headlines on Tuesday for taking aim at Senators Cassidy and Lindsey Graham’s attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In response, Kilmeade referred to the late-night host as a Hollywood elitist pushing his political agenda on the rest of the country.
“The reason I found this comment to be particularly annoying is because this is a guy who, whenever I see him, kisses my ass,” Kimmel said. “Oh, he’s such a fan… He follows me on Twitter; he asked me to write a blurb for his book, which I did; he calls my agent looking for projects. He’s dying to be a member of the Hollywood elite. The only reason he’s not a member of the Hollywood elite is because nobody will hire him to be one.
“You know, the reason I’m talking about this is because my son had an open-heart surgery, then has to have two more, and because of that I learned that there are kids with no insurance in the same situation,” Kimmel continued. “I don’t get anything out of this, Brian, you phony little creep.”
Kilmeade responded to Kimmel on Thursday’s edition of Fox & Friends, saying, “Last night, Jimmy Kimmel personally attacked me.” He continued, “I hope your son gets better” and “gets all the care he needs,” missing Kimmel’s point that it isn’t his son that would be affected by the bill, but millions of other children whose parents aren’t able to cover their medical costs. Kilmeade then suggested that Kimmel speak directly with Cassidy and Graham. (Kimmel, of course, already spoke with Cassidy, who appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live after the host revealed that his son was sick.)
UPDATE: Kilmeade once again addressed Kimmel’s comments on his Fox News radio show, defending himself against — of all things — the idea that he ever wanted a career in Hollywood.
“For him to go out and attack me personally, and try to get into my personality, saying, ‘He wants to be a Hollywood celebrity’? I’ve never… Why would I ever leave the number one network in all of cable… to get out to Los Angeles and do entertainment? I mean, what… what point is that? ‘No one will hire him’? It’s not even based in fact.”
The rant, which lasted nearly seven minutes, also found Kilmeade taking umbrage with Kimmel suggesting that he was short. (Yes, really!)
“I guess you said, ‘this little man,’ or something like that. I’m 5’10, 174 pounds. Sorry that’s not good enough for you, but I just think if you look at the average chart of a male in America, I think I’m pretty much on target.” Kudos?
VIDEOSJimmy Kimmel Reveals Baby Son’s Health Scare in Emotional Monologue
Adding fuel to the fire, Sen. Cassidy on Wednesday suggested to CNN’s Chris Cuomo that Kimmel simply “does not understand” the bill at all.
“Oh, I get it. I don’t understand because I’m a talk show host, right?” Kimmel asked, sarcastically. Then, after listing over a dozen major health care organizations that “vehemently oppose the bill,” the late-night host suggested that perhaps the problem is that “I do understand, and you got caught with your G-O-Penis out.
“I don’t want to turn this into a Kanye-and-Taylor-Swift-type situation, but when Senator Cassidy was on my show in May, he told me that he believed that every American family regardless of income should be able to get quality health care, and I believed he was sincere,” Kimmel continued. “Sadly, the bill he unveiled last week with Senator Lindsey Graham indicates that he was not sincere. It is, by many accounts, the worst health care bill yet.”
Your thoughts on Kimmel’s response to Kilmeade’s “elitist” jab? Sound off below.
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