Late night host Jimmy Kimmel during an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On April 28, he publicly feuded with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, mocking Giuliani’s reaction to his recent comedy segment.
“Last night America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani rose from the grave to weigh in on the ongoing drama involving me,” Kimmel said before airing a clip from Giuliani’s America’s Mayor Live show.
The exchange came after Giuliani criticized Kimmel for comments made during a recent satirical segment of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Style.
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Giuliani calls Kimmel an ‘incompetent fool’
In the broadcast footage, Giuliani, 81, did not hold back in his criticism, calling Kimmel “one of the most disgusting human beings in this country.”
He also said of Kimmel’s performance, “He went through the trouble of setting up a small stage. He’s also like an incompetent jerk.”
Kimmel fires back with sharp remarks
Kimmel responded with a series of sharp jokes that referenced Giuliani’s past controversial public moments.
“I have to say, it’s confusing to be called an incompetent jerk by a man who happened to hold a press conference outside a dildo store, who doesn’t seem to understand when videos are running and when they’re not, and who has a gallon of octopus ink dripping from his head,” Kimmel said.
He further added, “Does this man have any family members who could come for him yet?”
Kimmel also referenced Giuliani’s widely publicized Borat-related incident, saying, “It hurts when a man who farted his own pants in front of Borat’s daughter called him tacky.”
WHCD Joke About Melania Trump Draws Backlash
The dispute goes back to Kimmel’s “alternative” segment of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he joked about first lady Melania Trump.
Kimmel said Melania was “glowing like a widow-to-be,” a comment that drew criticism from President Donald Trump and Melania Trump.
Melania Trump later called on ABC to “take a stand” against Kimmel, calling his remarks “hateful and violent rhetoric” while Donald Trump called them a “despicable call to violence”.
And Trump called for Kimmel to be fired from his role at ABC in a Truth Social post that was later amplified by the White House’s official channel.
“I appreciate that so many people are outraged by Kimmel’s vile call to violence and would not normally respond to anything he said, but this is something that is way beyond the pale,” Trump wrote.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC.”
Kimmel denies any violent intent
After the backlash, Kimmel addressed the controversy in his April 27 monologue, rejecting claims that his joke encouraged violence.
“It was a very light joke about him being almost 80 and her being younger than me,” he said. “This was in no way a call for assassination.
He added: “I’m sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really do.”
Giuliani was hospitalized in critical but stable condition
Five days after the televised exchange, Giuliani was hospitalized in critical but stable condition, his spokesman Ted Goodman said.
“Rudy Giuliani, a true warrior… has been hospitalized and is in critical condition,” Donald Trump also said in a post on social media.
No details have been released about the cause of hospitalization or length of stay.
Once known as “America’s Mayor” for his post-9/11 leadership, Giuliani later became a key ally and personal lawyer of Donald Trump and played a central role in the effort to challenge the 2020 election results.
Earlier tensions involving an on-air controversy
The latest exchange also comes on the back of earlier scrutiny of Kimmel’s show, which was briefly pulled from the air in September after comments related to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The show returned after six days due to concerns about regulatory pressure.
