Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is stooping to a new low in his comedy routine.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) confirmed this week that her husband had filed for divorce after nearly three decades of marriage.
“Marriage is a wonderful thing and I’m a firm believer in it,” she said in a statement, adding, “Together, Perry and I formed our family and raised three great kids. He gave me the best job title you can ever earn: Mom. I’ll always be grateful for how great of a dad he is to our children. This is a private and personal matter and I ask that the media respect our privacy at this time.”
Kimmel decided to ignore her request for privacy and turn the news into a punchline.
“One of Trump’s most loyal MAGA maggots is Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene,” the late-night host began. “She’s getting divorced. Her husband, Perry Greene, filed for divorce yesterday after 27 years.”
The audience laughed in response.
He went on, “His original sentence was 30 years, but the judge shaved three years off for good behavior.”
“And in the space where he had to state the reason for his divorce, he wrote, ‘I am married to Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Kimmel added.
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Progressives are sick & depraved pic.twitter.com/znXkwGoudT
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 30, 2022
Let’s just get this out of the way. Comedy is supposed to be transgressive and irreverent.
It’s supposed to be funny and push the boundaries to a certain extent, and in some circumstances, people should be awkwardly trying to figure out if they can laugh at the joke.
On the criteria of pushing the boundaries and being irreverent, Kimmel certainly succeeded.
But there are some jokes that are not funny or appropriate, such as jokes about someone’s weight, and death.
Jokes about someone else’s divorce are not really funny, either.
Of course, being a public figure opens you up to criticism, a loss of privacy, and jokes about you.
But it is possible to think Greene is a performative, craven politician, and to despise her policies, without taking shots at her personal life.