<\/p>\n
Jimmy Kimmel fired back at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after the Health and Human Services secretary used a satirical quote to criticize modern late-night comedy.<\/p>\n
The exchange started after Kennedy reposted an essay on X about Stephen Colbert\u2019s final Late Show<\/em> broadcast, according to Entertainment Weekly<\/a>. Kennedy praised the post and used it to argue that political late-night comedy had collapsed.<\/p>\n The problem was that one of the lines Kennedy aimed at Kimmel appears to have come from satire, not from Kimmel himself. Kennedy claimed Kimmel had said, \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to be funny,\u201d then added that the ABC host had \u201cmade himself a priest.\u201d Kimmel responded on Instagram<\/a> by correcting Kennedy\u2019s spelling of \u201cnadir\u201d and adding a sharp vaccine-related jab.<\/p>\n Superb dissection of the shocking collapse of liberal comedy. This is the best explanation of how we\u2019ve reached the nader where Late Night host Jimmy Kimmel can say \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to be funny.\u201d As this author shows, he was hired as a comedian but he made himself a priest. https:\/\/t.co\/tWEpVPA0zQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The post Kennedy shared was written in the voice of a fictional CBS late-night executive and presented as satire. TV Insider<\/a> reported that it came from Peter Girnus, who describes himself online as a \u201ccyber populist\u201d and \u201chacker.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy used the post to criticize Kimmel by name. He said Kimmel was hired as a comedian but had moved into moral commentary, calling him a \u201cpriest\u201d rather than a comic.<\/p>\n That framing made the post spread quickly, but it also gave Kimmel an easy opening. Kennedy wrote \u201cnader\u201d when he meant \u201cnadir,\u201d and Kimmel made the typo the first part of his reply.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Kimmel shared a screenshot of Kennedy\u2019s post on Instagram and wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s \u2018nadir\u2019 dummy. Now get back to spreading polio.\u201d<\/p>\n The line worked as both a grammar correction and a political insult. Kennedy has long been criticized for his vaccine skepticism, and Kimmel has repeatedly used his ABC show to mock Kennedy\u2019s public health views.<\/p>\n The jab was harsh, but it fit the kind of reply Kimmel often gives political figures online: short, personal, and written for people who already understand the argument behind it.<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s post centered on the claim that Kimmel had said, \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to be funny.\u201d Entertainment Weekly reported that Kimmel did not say that line.<\/p>\n The phrase appears to have originated from an April article on The Babylon Bee<\/a>, a satirical site. The article used the line as part of a joke about Kimmel and late-night comedy, not as a real quote from the host.<\/p>\n TV Insider also reported that the quote was not an actual Kimmel statement. That detail changed the exchange from a simple late-night feud into something more specific: a cabinet official attacking a comedian with a line that appears to have started as parody.<\/p>\n Kimmel did talk about late-night comedy and politics during an April appearance on IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson<\/em>. The episode, titled \u201cHave a Good Laugh with Jimmy Kimmel,\u201d<\/a> featured a longer conversation about his career, comedy, and public criticism.<\/p>\nKennedy Turned a Satirical Line Into a Real Attack<\/h2>\n
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Kimmel Answered With a Spelling Correction and a Polio Jab<\/h2>\n
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The Quote Kennedy Used Appears to Come From The Babylon Bee<\/h2>\n
Kimmel Has Defended Political Comedy Before<\/h2>\n