Most people aware of Jimmy Kimmel agree heâs an unfunny, left-wing partisan hack.
But, despite knowing that, most believe he went too far making fun of Robert Downey Jr. at Sunday nightâs Oscar ceremony.
Christopher Nolanâs magnum opus absolutely dominated, winning seven Oscars out of 13 nominations, with Downey winning his Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Kimmel, however, decided this moment was the perfect time to dredge up Downeyâs sordid history with drug addiction, a public low point of his career that Downey has made clear he doesnât like talking about.
As seen in this Video shared to the Social media platform X by podcaster Patrick Bet-David, Kimmel began offering âcongratulationsâ to Downey, continuing, âThis is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.âs long and illustrious career.â Warning: the punchline is crude.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be the point where Kimmel ran out of graciousness and propriety.
âWell, one of the highest points,â Kimmel said, and most of you probably already know where this is going. He paused seeing Downey put a finger to his nose, to which Kimmel responded, âWas that too on the nose, or was that a drug motion you made?â
Kimmel, after Downey motioned Kimmel to wrap it up, tried to rib Downey with a crude joke: âIs that an acceptance speech in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?â
Then he finally let it go.
Downey, to his credit, responded with good humor and grace, but the good folks on X were quick to call out Kimmelâs tactless remarks.
As the original poster, Bet-David, wrote, it was a âqualified dirtbag joke that wasnât even funny ⊠Itâs as if Kimmel is envious of how much RDJ is loved.â
Other users reposted the clip. One user commented, âJust really gross jokes from Kimmel. Downey even tried riffing past it but Kimmel just doubles down,â and another concurred, saying, âMaking fun of the drug issues of Robert Downey Jr. is actually pretty lame. Iâm not surprised though, because Jimmy Kimmel has always sucked.â
Political reporter Jim Geraghty summed up the public response to the unfunny joke, saying, âWe can fume about Kimmel, or we can marvel at how cool Robert Downey Jr. is, in every circumstance, even when many of us would be angry or embarrassed.â
Of course, Kimmel has been a tactless, establishment shill for longer than he hasnât. During the show, he also tried to slam Donald Trumpâs criticism of his real time performance with a lame joke, and he has spent most his late night show bashing conservatives and praising the establishment.
Never forget, it was Kimmel who, on national television, proclaimed that unvaccinated folks should be turned away from hospitals and made fun of Donald Trump Jr. when he tested positive for coronavirus in 2020.
And thatâs leaving aside Kimmelâs insufferable left-wing preachiness in spite of formerly performing in black face, publicly proclaiming his friendship with Jeffrey Epsteinâs personal chef, and even joking about putting Trumpâs children in cages.
Kimmel is not at all funny and makes his living criticizing people â often in cruel and unfair ways.
It was just pathetic to take a mean-spirited cheap shot at Downeyâs well-documented drug problems on the night where he won his first Oscar.
That said, for as much as Kimmel deserves criticism, Downey himself deserves praise for handling Kimmelâs classless remarks with wit and grace, despite being decidedly unamused by the joke.
As Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars graphically demonstrated, thatâs not an easy thing to do, especially in such a public setting on such a highly visible night.
The fact remains, Downey is a talented and beloved actor, who overcame debilitating addiction and personal struggles to redeem himself and his career.
And not even an unfunny, tactless joke from an unfunny, left-wing late night host can take that away from him.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
