Jimmy Kimmel can dish out, but, based on his recent public tirades, he sure can’t take it.
On Tuesday, NFL star Aaron Rodgers suggested the late-night host might appear in documents naming people linked to sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are really hoping that doesn’t come out,” the New York Jets quarterback said on a podcast with ESPN’s Pat McAfee.
“I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle,” he said.
Kimmel went on a social media tirade in response, vehemently asserting his lack of any sort of association with Epstein and ending with a threat of legal action.
“I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any ‘list’ other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality,” he said in an X post on Tuesday evening.
“Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court,” the ABC late-night host said.
WARNING: The following post contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
Dear Aasshole: for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any “list” other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality. Your reckless… https://t.co/p8eug12uiS
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 2, 2024
Of course, the internet never forgets. As proof of that, Kimmel received a rather bitter reminder of his own bad actions from none other than comedian Rob Schneider.
The former “Saturday Night Live” star reminded him of his truly callous comments about unvaccinated COVID-19 patients back in 2021.
In response to Kimmel’s post about Rodgers, an X user shared an article with the headline “Jimmy Kimmel says unvaccinated people shouldn’t get ICU beds in hospitals,” and said, “This is ackshually worse.”
Schneider reposted that and said Kimmel’s assertion was “dangerous, wrong and shameful and fed into people being fired, demonized and ostracized. And YOU NEVER APOLOGIZED.”
You, @jimmykimmel asking for hospitals to NOT treat unvaccinated patients and let them die in hospital corridors was dangerous, wrong and shameful and fed into people being fired, demonized and ostracized.
And YOU NEVER APOLOGIZED. https://t.co/sOlBJ9GySJ— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) January 4, 2024
While social media tirades often backfire in a big way, Kimmel really shot himself in the foot this time.
How can he claim to have the moral high ground when he, without a drop of compassion, suggested COVID patients who declined to take an experimental and inadequately tested vaccine should be left to die without adequate care?
The comments came during his show on Sept. 7, 2021.
“Dr. Fauci said that if hospitals get any more overcrowded they’re going to have to make some very tough choices about who gets an ICU bed,” Kimmel said.
“I don’t know, that choice doesn’t seem so tough to me,” he said. “Vaccinated person having a heart attack? Yes, come right on in, we’ll take care of you. Unvaccinated guy who gobbled horse goo? Rest in peace, wheezy.’”
Of course, whether Rodgers was off base in suggesting Kimmel was an Epstein associate, the fact is, as Schneider and many others have pointed out in their replies to Kimmel’s initial post, he should focus on his own horrific words.
Do you agree with Rob Schneider?
He has never expressed remorse for essentially advocating that those with different political views from him should be left to die.
He willingly contributed to an environment that, as Schneider reminded him, led to people with the “wrong” political opinions being unjustly persecuted for those opinions.
And on the Epstein front, there is evidence to suggest Kimmel might have been protesting too much.
A video surfaced from the TV show “Extra” in which he hobnobbed with chef Adam Perry Lang, a man he considers a friend — who also happened to be Epstein’s private chef.
Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre contends that Lang undoubtedly knew what was happening in Epstein’s house of horrors, though Lang has denied her claims.
Regardless of what such connections may mean, Kimmel’s unhinged tirade and threat of legal action while playing the victim came off as disingenuous.
For a man who boldly advocated for giving the “wrong” sorts of people essentially no medical care when faced with a deadly illness, his vitriol over what could be interpreted as a joke from Rodgers does not make Kimmel look any better.
Like many others who have vented their wrath on social media in the heat of the moment, the ABC host is learning the consequences of airing your grievances in public as a public figure.
If you don’t want people to circle back on your claims with receipts, don’t make a big production of such accusations.
Perhaps now Kimmel will remember the age-old wisdom: Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
