Jimmy Kimmel Apologizes for Using Blackface to Impersonate Karl Malone
Jimmy Kimmel has issued an apology for a recurring Man Show sketch in which he used blackface to impersonate NBA player Karl Malone.
“I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us,” Kimmel said in a statement. “That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.”
Kimmel says he began impersonating Malone on KROQ radio in the mid-90s, a bit that eventually made its way to The Man Show, which Kimmel co-hosted with Adam Carolla on Comedy Central from 1999 to 2003.
“We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible,” he explains. “I never considered that this might be seen as anything other than an imitation of a fellow human being, one that had no more to do with Karl’s skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head. I’ve done dozens of impressions of famous people, including Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie, and many others. In each case, I thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more. Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices.”
He continues, “I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last twenty-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show. I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.”
Though some have speculated that the host’s summer-long absence from Jimmy Kimmel Live! was an attempt to avoid scrutiny for this recently resurfaced sketch, he explains, “My summer vacation has been planned for more than a year and includes the next two summers off as well. I will be back to work in September. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to explain and to those I’ve disappointed, I am sorry.”
Kimmel is the latest comedian to be called out for using blackface in recent weeks. Fellow late-night host Jimmy Fallon recently apologized for employing blackface to impersonate Chris Rock in 2000 on Saturday Night Live, while multiple episodes of 30 Rock have been pulled from streaming and syndication for their use of blackface.
Watch Kimmel’s impression of Malone below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.
Although I don’t think this is the end of the world, I find it hysterical for lack of a better word because if someone else did this he’d be all over them. The way he has attacked the President about every thing, including racism, the fact that he did this is hysterical. What a butt hole hypocrite. He should feel like crap because of his preaching and his pointing the finger and all his nastiness toward Trump and then this. What a jerk. He’d be calling for people’s heads and jobs if it was anyone else. Well screw him and his show. HYPOCRITE
Well, there is a matter of context. The president should be held to a much higher standard than the host of The Man Show.
But Trump wasn’t President at the time you’re saying he’s guilty of grabbing. Which he was just talking like most men do. Kimmel just protecting himself because his job is totally on the line. He knows BLM coming after him and he’s trying to protect his … Plus he’s not even close to being funny.
Yeah, because only men who aren’t President can be allowed to grab women. Your standards for male behavior are far too low. If you believe Trump only ever talked about that, you’re crazy. How many times has he been accused for sexual assault over the years? Or does that not matter since he wasn’t President at those times?
Trump was specifically talking about what women would allow him to do because of his fame. That would make it consensual. He also spoke about being able to get away with shooting someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Do you think he did that, or is it more likely that Trump might he prone to hyperbole?
I don’t think he even knows what hyperbole means. Someone who says we only have high coronavirus numbers because of all of the testing and so we should slow down testing doesn’t really give me any confidence in his intelligence.
Please give me a break. You know as well as I do that if Bill Clinton (whom I despise) or Barack Obama had been caught on a hot mic saying the same thing Donald Trump said, you and every other Trump supporter would be screaming about how unfit he was to be President. You’re only excusing the Grabber in Chief because you think he’s the savior of America, despite his abysmal record in office (thousand of Americans are dead because of him). I don’t care whether you support Trump, Biden, or Howard the Duck for President: i just really can’t stand hypocrisy.
Trump was specifically talking about what women would allow him to do because of his fame. That would make it consensual.
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No, it’s more like he believed they were consenting because, hey, he’s a famous rich guy, who wouldn’t want to sleep with him? Just ’cause he believes they were consenting doesn’t actually mean they were. The guy doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word “consent”.
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He also spoke about being able to get away with shooting someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Do you think he did that, or is it more likely that Trump might he prone to hyperbole?
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Everyone knows it’s hyperbole. Our issue is that it’s a horrifically awful thing for a presidential candidate to say, because he’s basically saying, “I can get away with doing anything.” Which is not something you want to hear the potential leader of your country say. If Obama or Hillary had said that, don’t even try and tell me that the right wouldn’t have an apoplectic fit over it. I certainly wouldn’t want to hear them say that, either, and I’m a Democrat.
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Trump’s all about the obnoxious braggadocio and thinks he’s so much tougher/smarter/more competent than he actually is. He doesn’t have the first clue how to be humble, decent, compassionate, thoughtful, reflective, etc., all of which are qualities we should desire and demand in a president.
Sure, and look, speaking as a super liberal person even I can identify my hypocrisy in these situations. I try very hard not to “cancel” people I don’t like when old things pop up if I don’t “cancel” people I do like when stuff resurfaces. But here’s a key difference: reflection and acknowledgment. I’m not saying I’d like Trump, but he’d look very different if that video resurfaced and he acted like a professional, mature human being and condoned his own words and openly said they were inappropriate and a product of the times. It’s still gross, but at least we could acknowledge that he’s capable of self reflection. As it stands, he is not and only addressed those words like a child and like someone who still actively says these things. He has not changed and he clearly doesn’t think he’s wrong. Therefore, Trump = bad and Jimmy Kimmel = listening and growing. (It’s not my place to forgive Jimmy Kimmel, so I won’t say that and I won’t say it’s okay, but this is the difference to me)
All of this.
This argument always irritates the hell outta me. This was the old Jimmy, he has acknowledged this so many times he has changed for the better and has done so much to change and mature as a man. Trump has always been a dirtbag and once he became president, a position that use to be held with the highest of respect, has gotten worse. DO NOT call hypocrisy on Jimmy, the argument does not hold up. Until trump apologies and changes you can not compare the two.
.”I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.” said the liberal racist.
The difference is Kimmel is a comedian and trump is the president. Kimmel has changed, trump gets worse. Grow some brain cells and stop defending the dictator wanna be, bunker hiding Con artist president.
Are saying Trump is not a comedian? But I find him very funny. I thought he was doing parody.
Stupid rebuttal just like all trump deplorables are!
Our disgusting President deserves the criticism he gets and a lot more! Trump is a racist, liar, rapist, thief, traitor, misogynist, narcissistic idiot who embarrasses himself every time he opens his big mouth! People like you that are in his cult are just as bad. You take whatever old “grab em by the p***y,” “I wan to f**k my own daughter” Trump says as gospel and spread his hate in droves! He’s the #1 reason this country is so divided and at its worst in most people’s lifetime!
Well said. Kimmel is typical of the Hollywood liberals. While lying poolside at their gated mansions, they bemoan the plight of less fortunate people. Did Kimmel make jokes about Bill Clinton who brought so much pride to our nation and the office of President as Monica serviced him in the Oral….ooops….Oval Office? Jimmy, I’m so sorry you have been carrying this guilt around for over twenty years. I can see it’s really bothered you all this time.
I don’t know how my comment ended up here following Rob’s venom. I was writing in reply to Pickle8182. THAT post was what I wrote “Well said” about.
Yep, you go for it Jimmi! Although I would like to point out your one of the first to jump on someone else when they do it and never let up. You’re an embarrassment to mankind, people like you and your ilk that go back 20 years and dig up stuff that was perfectly fine then and somehow people find something wrong with it now. How does it feel a$$ swipe?!
I noticed a Corolla has distanced himself from you. Good move on his part.
I never could figure out how, after you had that man show you were able to land that gig at night, it just surprised the hell out of me.
You’re a lying Cry Baby and I love it when I see people like you go down and have to apologize and get mad because you’re getting called out the way you call everybody else out. Have a fun summer! Semper Fi, Robbie
There is something wrong with this country. States are trying to suppress the black vote. The guy infesting the WH is trying to kill us by not doing testing and people are upset over something Kimmel did 2 decades ago?! What the hell is wrong with you people? Where are your priorities? Do you think black people care about this? The police are kneeling on their necks and you think they give a rat’s behind about what Jimmy did? They don’t. This cancel culture needs to stop.
Another Kimmell apology that isn’t really an apology. Shut the f up about the president for once and just own what you did you racist turd. Liberals are the worst kind of hypocrites. They accuse others of the things they love doing themselves.
And conservatives arent a bunch of racist, vote-suppressing, Confederacy loving, religious hypocrites? This isn’t a debate you want to start, Darrell
I’ve heard it all before. Go research some real history. It’s not Republicans you should be worried about.
You do realize that the political parties of today are not the same parties of the past, right? What being a Republican or a Democrat in the past meant is not the same as today. The ideologies of the parties have changed since they first began. They have changed over the years.
I guarantee you he doesn’t know that.
This is a myth, pushed by the party who founded the KKK because it looks bad on their record. If you look at actual politicians and their positions over the years, you will see that while the south (which was racist democrat-majority) did become more Republican, it was because their views changed to align more with republicans. The views of the people changed, not the positions of the parties.
So the democrats of today, the LBJ democrats, the FDR democrats, and the slavery democrats are all the same democrats. The same side that founded Planned Parenthood with the goal of weeding out the inferior people (look up Margaret Sanger’s views on eugenics)
You’ve been duped with this big “flip” narrative, and all the evidence you need is in the official records.
I’m not saying that the views of democrats haven’t evolved at all over the years, but their history is still their own, and a lot of that history is very, very racist.
I think we are a very far distance from slavery Democrats at this point.
Thank you. I love when liberals tell me, a black man, about the myth of the party switch. There was no switch. Don’t believe everything you’re indoctrinated to believe in school. The liberals control education. The Democrats are the system. Democrats are the systemic racism.
Well, Darrell, you say Democrats are the systemic racism in a comment down below and it won’t let me click to reply to that. So, I’ll just say here that I’m sorry you feel that way. Maybe it’s actually possible that not everyone who identifies more with one party is exactly the same. But, since you think all Democrats must be part of the systemic racism, then you’d prefer I reconsider my involvement in the protests I’ve been participating in at my local government level to demand police reform. But, sure, all Democrats are racists and part of the problem. I think another problem in this country is the division we get thrown at us from higher levels of government and then we also try to divide ourselves with all of this finger-pointing across the aisle. But, thanks for your opinions. I guess my getting out there to protest police violence isn’t good enough for you since I’m a Democrat. Don’t worry though. Your opinion won’t stop me from still speaking out for what is right.
Do you think there are no black Democrats? There are. I know quite a few. So, they are part of the systemic race problem as well????
Remind me again which political candidate David Duke of the KKK endorsed in 2016. And remind me which party gave this country its first black president.
How many of these cities in which we see protests and cries for change have been run by democrats for decades? And how many of those democrats will be reelected yet again? You keep calling for change and help for minority communities, and then vote for the same local politicians who have been hurting those communities all along. The ones who wave minorities around in order to get votes, but who profit the most from keeping them down. Who profit the most from keeping them hurt, and scared and angry. Who profit the most from building hatred and division. Which party keeps telling black people what they can’t do and what they’ll never amount to? Which party has convinced minorities that segregation is actually a good thing now?
But yeah, you voted for a black President. Good on you. And yeah, most black people vote democrat. How’d that vote work out for the 106 people shot in Chicago last weekend?
I think you’ll find that both parties would love to see police reform. Better training, doing away with police unions, etc. We actually all agreed on a lot about the George Floyd situation, and it could have been a real moment of unity and growth. It’s a shame that that opportunity was wasted. There is a real conversation that needs to be had here, but until we do it honestly, nothing is going to change.
Systemic racism started when Columbus said that he discovered America. It began with the Native Americans.
It has not changed. Sadly, the U.S. would be a great country, if not for, Greed, envy, hate and insecurities. This is what the final Book of the BIBLE Revelations has warned us about for thousands of years. People have refused to listen. The word hope is used so many times. I hope that Mr. Kimmel, the president and everyone, will work on changing what their parents have taught them about people whose skin is the color of dirt. God said that He took dirt and blew life into it, and made man. Did the BIBLE lie? Is that why we die and go back to dirt? Try looking past color and really see the people. Maybe as my 11 year old said, you may, see their Heart!
God BLESS America before it is too late
That’s a tired – and incorrect – trope that Democrats tell themselves because their party’s history is awful.
Keep lying to yourself. 87% of black voters identify with the Democratic Party or lean Democratic, compared with just 7% who identify as Republican or lean Republican.
Was he pushed into apologizing? Telling people that he grew up, but when CA had those earthquakes last year and shook numerous people everywhere, he made of fun of kids who were putting on a pageant at that time. Did he apologize for that? Kimmel growing up? Yeah right.
He needs to apologize for how he treated Megan Fox as well.
Not according to Megan Fox.
I hate the comment sections now, people are just so stupid, scratch that these sick trump supporters are so stupid.
Don’t like it when liberals eat their own huh? Lol
I love it when leftist hypocrites who do nothing but destroy others they deem to be unworthy are then destroyed themselves. He is a cretin.
Can we just agree blackface is verboten from this point on, forget past transgressions, and move into the future? Judge a man on who he is, not who he was.
Well said.
No, we can’t. Just following the rules as established by liberals. Now that they bite them in the butt, they want to change them. (See Ralph Northam, Ted Danson, Joy Bahr, Justin Trudeau and the litany of other liberal blackfacers)
Don’t expect Hollywood to be consistent. The torpedos they launched at others are circling back on them and they have to rationalize why it’s bad/evil when other people do it, but it’s just a learning experience for them. They deserve to be laughed at and not taken seriously as moral arbiters.
SO now so many people wanna excuse Jimmy because he’s a comedian. And a liberal Trump basher, which is always a refuge for people caught doing racist stuff.
He should LOSE HIS SHOW.
Our disgusting President deserves the criticism he gets and a lot more! Trump is a racist, liar, rapist, thief, traitor, misogynist, narcissistic idiot who embarrasses himself every time he opens his big mouth! People like you that are in his cult are just as bad. You take whatever old “grab em by the p***y,” “I wan to f**k my own daughter” Trump says as gospel and spread his hate in droves! He’s the #1 reason this country is so divided and at its worst in most people’s lifetime!
As opposed to people like you who watch CNN and believe everything they spout about Trump. You people are the ones in a cult. No independent thought. Just liberal group think.
And you don’t think that we think the same things about Republicans? You all blindly follow him and believe the editorialized Fox news stories. I would say we are perfectly capable of independent thought. You all just don’t like that our thoughts go against your thoughts. Imagine if everyone realized that what they think about the other side was what the other side thinks about them…what sort of realizations would we all come to? Might it be that we all actually want the majority of the same things? Might it be that a lot of us are actually well-educated individuals who have opinions based on our own experiences and knowledge? Might it be that we realize this infighting is not necessary because we all want the same good things for our country overall? Might we see that we are a lot more alike than we think we are? Might it actually be that we see we are capable of having a difference of opinion without resorting to name calling? Maybe it’s time we realize the people at the top enjoy keeping us at each other’s throats. They need something to keep us all angry about so we’ll be sure to vote along party lines and keep them in office. We need to all wake up and realize they’re just dividing us more and more every day and we are letting them.
This is just ironic to me as well though. Weren’t you all Obama bashers when he was President? So, it’s ok for you all to bash a President of the opposite party, but it’s not ok for us to bash the President you like? You were all likely doing something very similar just a few years ago. So, is it the “Do as I say, not as I do,” like of thinking? We should just shut up because you love Trump, but it was ok for you all to run your mouths when it was Obama in the White House? Talk about hypocrisy. When will we all remember that it’s actually ok to have a difference of opinion and not be rude about it?!?!!??!?!?!?!
No, it’s more like we hear and see Trump and go off what he says and does. We don’t need a news outlet to show us how bad he is. He does a fine enough job of that all on his own.
.”I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.” said the far left liberal racist.
Bret, if he should lose his show over a racist act then that is fair enough but if we apply it equally then Fox News will just have to shut down completely. If the deal is Fox goes dark and we lose Jimmy then I am up for sacrificing him for the greater good.
Amen!
Many actors wore black face on tv in last 20 or more years. they all have to apologize now or by fired? As long they don’t do it now people should not overreact and let them be. People change and comedy standards too.
Let’s face facts, there are different rules for the left than there are for right. You really can’t argument that fact. Old to remember Jimmy begging for the supposed tape of Trump saying the “N” word. While there is tape of him doing it. Until the left hold their own to the same standards they hold the right to, we will never agree to anything.
So you are saying the right holds people to a higher standard? Al Franken resigned over a joke picture that was in poor taste and the allegations that he kissed a woman during a sketch that included a kiss, the woman in question being an ally of Roger Stone and a paid Fox contributor. Jim Jordan has been accused of systemically covering up the rape of underage boys and he is still in office and it is nothing but crickets from the right. The President has been accused of rape by 14 women including his first wife who testified to that fact under oath, again crickets. Maybe we can “argument” that fact Einstein. The right has the monopoly on low morals.
Why, yes I am. You want examples, here we go. The current govenor of Virginia appeared in blackface or a KKK outfit. No one seems to remembered which he was. Pray tell me, if that situation was reverse would we hear crickets? The mob would be at the gates with pitchforks and fire. There are sitting representatives on the left who are openly anti semitic and have associated with known anti semitic. Nary a peep from their party. But, the President who has a son in law and his own daughter who are Jewish. But, he is accused of being an anti semitic by the left. Never say the right was perfect, but I would make a bet that the right`s moral factor is way higher than the left`s.
I was never terriblely offended by this to begin with, but he should have just apologized right away like Fallon did. Him waiting for it to blow over made it worse and makes me question the sincerity of his apology.
TVLine, why post the video? It has been acknowledged to be offensive so should therefore be removed.
The only reason he even apologized now is because someone else brought it up. During his apology he brings someone else into it instead of just apologizing for something HE did. If this was someone the right they would have done cancelled the show. The only thing he is really sorry for his maybe having his money gig cancelled. Let’s not even bring up all of his sexist things women did on his show.
But because he’s a Democrat and Hollywood liberal, he’ll be given a free pass & all will be forgiven.
Let’s hope President Trump sends out a little Tweet to Little Jimmy.
Ha ha. No wonder he took the summer off. Loves to give out but can’t take it.
Roseanne get’s fired but Jimmy gets the summer off. BOO ABC
Liberal two step once again. He apologized and that is that. However, if there was video of President Trump in the past wearing black face and using the N word, all hell would break loose for his resignation.. Liberal Clowns
Roseanne said far less and was fired. Jimmy should be as well.
How is he not fired
I’m not surprised. Liberals always give a pass to their own when it comes to blatant racism.
Eh, this is nothing. The lockdown is making people butthurt about every little thing
These comedians need to loose their jobs just like others who have lost theirs due to things they’ve done in the past that was acceptable at the time ! Either EVERYONE pays the same price or no one looses their jobs and lively hoods , we forgive , swear to never repeat it and move on ! I find it ironic when these people have berated and criticized others for doing the same thing. These people are hypocrites.
” I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.” said the racist.
So many unrelated comments IMO and MY OPINION ONLY. I’m sure everyone old enough to go back a couple of decades has said and or done something that they would be ashamed of or at the very least embarrassed about. If doing blackface was part of the “costume” and/or impersonation of someone, I don’t personally have an issue with that and it being brought out all these years later and expecting someone to apologize about it now isn’t necessary; again, IMO. On Halloween way back in 1979, I was dating a black man (I’m white) and I dressed up as him (including black makeup) and he dressed up as me (including makeup). Is this something I should now apologize for? I think NOT and never would BTW. I ended up marrying that man and having a beautiful daughter and she has a couple of kids who are beautiful. Talking about Trump, left or right, democrat or republican doesn’t do any good. Not all people who like or hate Trump are the same, not all democrats or republicans are the same within the party. Can’t we just all please move forward from this day forward and try to respect all humans and be there and stand up for people who are not being treated right? Let’s pull out an old saying “Make Love/Not War” and “Peace”. Arguing on here doesn’t do any good. Come on people, we’re all humans and we all bleed red. Love and Peace to you all. Take Care! Love each other!