What To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel responded to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s criticism of late-night comedy.
- Kennedy had shared a satirical post and falsely attributed a quote to Kimmel.
- Kimmel previously said that his role as a late-night host is defined by his own standards, not by critics.
Jimmy Kimmel fired back at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday (May 24) after the Health and Human Services Secretary mocked Stephen Colbert‘s cancelation and the state of late-night comedy.
Kennedy shared an X post from self-described “cyber populist” and “hacker” Peter Girnus, who wrote a lengthy satirical essay pretending to be the “senior vice president of late-night strategy at CBS.” In the post, Girnus claimed to have “killed” Colbert’s Daily Show persona and “turned a jester into a priest.”
“Superb dissection of the shocking collapse of liberal comedy,” Kennedy wrote as he reshared Girnus’ post. “This is the best explanation of how we’ve reached the nader [sic] where Late Night host Jimmy Kimmel can say ‘It’s not my job to be funny.’ As this author shows, he was hired as a comedian but he made himself a priest.”
Superb dissection of the shocking collapse of liberal comedy. This is the best explanation of how we’ve reached the nader where Late Night host Jimmy Kimmel can say “It’s not my job to be funny.” As this author shows, he was hired as a comedian but he made himself a priest. https://t.co/tWEpVPA0zQ
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 24, 2026
Kimmel hit back at Kennedy on Instagram, sharing the tweet and writing over it, “It’s ‘nadir’ dummy. Now get back to spreading polio.”
The alleged quote that Kennedy mentioned in his post was never actually said by Kimmel. As reported by the Huffington Post, the “it’s not my job to be funny” line seems to have originated from an article on the satirical news website Babylon Bee last month.
Kimmel did open up about his position as a late-night host and balancing comedy with the truth while appearing on Michelle Obama‘s podcast in April.
“I love telling jokes, I love being funny, I love when the audience laughs. There’s nothing that’s more exciting to me than that,” he said before noting that he would feel embarrassed and ashamed if he didn’t also talk about the things going on in the world.
He continued, “I’ve always said, since the very beginning, even when I was on the radio, is to talk about what is going on in people’s lives.”
As for those critics who say it’s not his job to talk about politics, Kimmel stated, “Don’t tell me what my job is. I don’t tell you what your job is. My job is whatever I decide my job is, or whatever my employer allows me to do. That’s what my job is.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC