Jimmy Kimmel said this week that he’s lost at least half his fan base because of his anti-Trump jokes on his late-night show.
“I’ve lost half my fans – maybe more than that,” said the Jimmy Kimmel Live! star. The host said Thursday on the Naked Lunch podcast, adding that “10 years ago I was the most popular talk show host among Republicans,” according to research.
He said that when former President Trump first ran for ABC executives, he “hinted” that he should retract his jokes about the candidate.
“I just said, ‘If you want to do that, I understand and I don’t blame you, but I won’t do that,'” the comedian told co-hosts Phil Rosenthal and David Wild.
LATE NIGHT COMEDY SWIMMES IN RATINGS LIKE COLBERT, KIMMEL, OTHERS OPENLY DEMOCRATIC ROOTS, REPUBLICANS
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, left, said he’s lost “half my fans — maybe more than that” over his jokes about former President Trump, right. (Presley Ann/MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
He said he agreed a more neutral stance in his comedy would help ratings, and he told executives, “If you want someone else to host the show, that’s fine. That’s ok for me. I’m just not going to do it like that.”
He said executives pulled out because they knew he was “serious.”
Kimmel added, “I couldn’t live with myself [otherwise]’, as Rosenthal claimed, the moderator was doing a ‘public service’ with his show.
Then-candidate Donald Trump was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel’s show in 2016. (Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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Kimmel said he doesn’t think about what he’s doing in this “great way” but “I love this country too. This flag does not belong to them. This is ours. And if I see someone come in and ruin it.” I’ll say something about that.”
In 2019, Jimmy Kimmel sarcastically hailed the middle of Trump’s first term with “Jimmy Kimmel Live Intermission Accomplished: A Halftime Tribute to Trump.” (Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
He said he was “proud” to speak out against Trump but felt “there’s a sacrifice you make when it comes to your audience and you could do pretty well if you just stay in the middle.” would”.
He also joked that he hopes he’ll be on the air when “Trump goes to jail.”
Kimmel’s show has been on the air since 2003, and ratings have dropped significantly in recent years along with the other late-night programs.
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“Nobody watches TV anymore,” Kimmel said in his interview, acknowledging that most people watch his show online. His show’s YouTube channel has 18.9 million subscribers.