Inside the Magic - Jimmy Kimmel had his monologue interrupted Monday night by breaking news; after 20 years, ABC has decided to part ways with the late-night host.
The breaking news came just moments after Jimmy Kimmel mentioned the termination of Fox News host Tucker Carlson and CNN’s Don Lemon. Mid-sentence, it cuts to Kimmel’s sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, who delivers the news.
“We have some breaking news,” said Guillermo. “After 20 years on the air, ABC TV has decided to part ways with its host, Jimmy Kimmel.” Guillermo added, “On a personal note, I’d like to say to Jimmy, don’t let the door hit you in your ass on the way out.”
Credit: ABC© Provided by Inside the Magic
Obviously, it was just a hilarious joke that mimicked the real breaking news from earlier that day. Both Carlson and Lemon’s termination came as a surprise to both their colleagues and viewers. And while the networks claimed they were mutual decisions, Kimmel alluded to the fact that Carlson ended his last show on Friday with “We’ll be back on Monday,” being completely unaware that he would be terminated before then.
Credit: Fox News© Provided by Inside the Magic
It is, however, a bit ironic to make fun of Tucker Carlson being let go from Fox News when the ABC network is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company and is also currently firing employees. So while this was only a funny bit, it should be considered a little too close to home for the staff at ABC.
Disney has already let go several executives at ABC News earlier this month, and with more layoffs coming throughout the week, there could be more staff at the network to be laid off. EPSN has also seen several significant layoffs at the company as well.
Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night hosts have been in hot water before, such as when Kimmel was under fire for doing a sketch in blackface, and the time The Late Show host David Letterman had an inappropriate relationship with his assistant. Those two incidences would be enough to get terminated today, yet both hosts were not fired. Letterman retired in 2015, and Kimmel took a hiatus from hosting for a while, but they dodged a bullet when their networks decided to keep them on.
So while this was just a joke, if Kimmel isn’t on his best behavior, it could become a reality one day.
