Stephen Colbert stood up for Jimmy Kimmel following Donald Trump‘s latest social media outburst over the Oscars, where host Kimmel dissed Trump live on stage by reading the former president’s criticism of the ceremony and saying: “Thank you for watching, I’m surprised you’re still — isn’t it past your jail time?” In an April 17 post on Truth Social, Trump slammed “stupid Jimmy Kimmel” and called him a “horrendous” host. Trump also blamed Kimmel for the show’s “big ratings drop.”
“You keep my friend Jimmy Kimmel’s name out of your weird little wet mouth, OK?” Colbert fired back during “The Late Show.” “I’m mad. Jimmy Kimmel is my podcast brother from ‘Strike Force Five.’ And I have vowed to defend him until my death or until the next ad for Mint Mobile.”
“And for the record, sir, Jimmy did an incredible job as host. Oscar viewership was up 4%,” Colbert added before joking: “That’s right. This year, four more people watched.”
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Colbert concluded on a more serious note by saying: “That’s right, in the middle of a presidential campaign and countless federal indictments, he’s obsessed with the Academy Awards from five weeks ago.”
Kimmel himself addressed Trump’s latest attack during a late night monologue, saying: “It appears that I once again ruffled the feathers of our Kentucky-fried former president, who is, apparently — with all that’s going on — still smarting from my joke about him at the Oscars.”
“This was five weeks ago. My parents don’t even care anymore,” Kimmel quipped. “The only person still talking about this joke is him. It really must have gotten to him….I don’t know, that must be why they asked me to host the show again next year, which I wasn’t planning to do, but now I might. You know what? Maybe [Trump] can watch on the TV in the rec room at Rikers with all the guys.”
Trump doesn’t seem able to let Kimmel’s Oscars diss go. In an interview with Fox News following the Oscars ceremony, Trump bashed Kimmel as a “lousy host” and “not a talented guy.” Trump proceeded to say that Kimmel’s “ratings are terrible” for his ABC talk show.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Kimmel then responded about Trump’s continued stewing over the Oscars diss. “Donald Trump has said I’m not talented so many times Eric is starting to get jealous. But what he doesn’t realize is that I love this. I love that this bothered him so much.”
Trump’s latest social media attack arrived amid his ongoing hush money trial in New York City, for which Kimmel has been roasting Trump for all week on his ABC late night show.