Kimmel fires back at RFK Jr. over ‘collapse of liberal comedy’ jab

Jimmy Kimmel took a pointed shot at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week after the Cabinet member used a viral satirical post to blame the late-night host for what he called the “shocking collapse of liberal comedy.”

Mr. Kennedy shared the post on X on Sunday, describing it as a “superb dissection” of the decline of liberal late-night television. In doing so, he attributed to Mr. Kimmel the line “it’s not my job to be funny” — a quote that was never actually said by the host. According to multiple reports, the line originated in a satirical piece published by The Babylon Bee; Mr. Kennedy appears to have taken the parody at face value.

Mr. Kennedy also misspelled “nadir” — a word meaning the lowest point — as “nader” in the post. Rather than engage with the substance of the critique, Mr. Kimmel responded on Instagram by sharing a screenshot of Mr. Kennedy’s message with the correction overlaid: “It’s ’nadir’ dummy. Now get back to spreading polio.” The second line referenced Mr. Kennedy’s long-standing controversies over vaccine skepticism.

The exchange arrived as the cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” drew renewed attention to late-night television’s future. CBS announced in July 2025 that the program would conclude in May 2026, calling the move “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and stating it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Trump both argued publicly that the cancellation reflected a rejection of politically driven comedy by audiences — a framing Mr. Colbert and supporters disputed, noting the show was winning its time slot when the decision was made.

Mr. Kimmel has faced separate and significant controversy in recent weeks. On the Thursday broadcast of his program — two days before a gunman opened fire at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — Mr. Kimmel performed a mock version of the event, joking that First Lady Melania Trump had “a glow like an expectant widow.” When the shooting occurred that Saturday and President Trump was evacuated from the ballroom, the remark drew immediate condemnation from both the president and the first lady.

Mrs. Trump called the joke “hateful and violent rhetoric” and demanded accountability from the network.

“It is time for ABC to take a stand,” she wrote on X. Mr. Kimmel said the joke was a reference to the couple’s age difference and was “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.”

Mr. Kennedy’s broader critique of late-night comedy predates his Cabinet role. During a 2023 appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” he argued that hosts including Mr. Colbert and Jon Stewart had abandoned their role as skeptics of authority by promoting coronavirus vaccine mandates. “I thought they stopped being funny because comedians are funny when they’re ridiculing authority, and they all had to stop doing that,” he said at the time.