ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel used two minutes of his monologue on Thursday night to stooge for the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.
Now, to be clear, whether or not the app actually poses any danger to the country and its national security interest is for others to decide.
But what is not debatable is Kimmel’s defense of the social media company was really bizarre.
The host opened Thursday’s edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by making note of the fact a bipartisan effort is underway in Washington to explore banning the app from the country.
Members of the House grilled TikTok CEO Shou Chew for hours Thursday over fears the app could collect users’ data and share it with the Chinese government, Newsweek reported.
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, admitted last year its employees had stolen data from the app to spy on American reporters, Mashable reported.
Given all of that, there is definitely cause for worry over the app, especially given that nothing in China is technically privately owned.
The potential implications have become so worrisome, TikTok did something few forces on Earth can do: It united Democrats and Republicans under a unified cause.
House Democrats were just as concerned as their Republican colleagues throughout Thursday’s hearing, so Kimmel’s attempt to downplay its potential downside is a major red flag.
The host portrayed TikTok as a harmless video-sharing platform where users can talk about feet and put filters over their faces.
His producers adopted some of those features to really sell the message.
“The fear is that the Chinese government could order ByteDance to turn over all the information it has on us at any time, and if China figures out how to make spaghetti on a countertop, they’ll be unstoppable,” Kimmel noted.
After he pretended not to know much about the app, he dismissed any notion China is mining users’ data for nefarious purposes – or intends to do so in the future.
“The president of China watches every second of this,” Kimmel said. “One day, he’s just gonna use it against us. That’s TikTok for you.”
While it is a step in the right direction to see Kimmel take a break from crying about how much he loathes conservatives, something about the segment reeks.
In all likelihood, Kimmel’s defense of TikTok likely comes down to the fact he works for ABC, which is owned by the notoriously left-wing Disney.
Disney, which owns Marvel, just had its ban on movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe lifted in China, so there are presumably some undisclosed conflicts of interest here.
Disney relies on China’s vast moviegoing public to prop up the franchise.
The company missed out on a lot of cash as films such as “Black Widow,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and “Thor: Love and Thunder” were blocked by China’s censors.
Disney stands to earn a lot of capital if it keeps China’s oppressive regime happy. We have to assume Kimmel knows what hand feeds him, and the TikTok stunt was little more than an effort at groveling.
At one point, Kimmel was a genuinely funny guy. It is a tragedy his deadpan style, sharp writing, and ability to make people from all backgrounds laugh have been overtaken by his “woke” mind disease.
After Thursday’s apparent stooging for Beijing, it is a legitimate question as to whether Kimmel should be forced to register as a foreign agent.
Thursday’s monologue segment was beyond bewildering.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
