Why Jimmy Kimmel Epitomizes Hollywood's Political Cowardice

Jimmy Kimmel, a professional comedian by trade, is back on his soapbox.

The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” generated headlines in May when he revealed how his newborn son underwent heart surgery. A teary-eyed Kimmel shared the story with his ABC audience, a genuinely moving moment.

Then Kimmel switched gears, saying both political parties should ensure pre-existing conditions are covered for all Americans. In short, he used his own painful experience to tell the country how the nation’s health care coverage should be run.

This time, Kimmel is once again espousing a left-of-center approach to medicine. And he’s getting nasty about it.

Earlier this week, Kimmel used his late-night comedy perch to attack the GOP’s current proposal, dubbed the Graham-Cassidy bill, to replace ObamaCare. That’s the “historic” health care overhaul sold on lies and responsible for spiking insurance rates nationwide. Kimmel never said much about the people hurt by the previous president’s plan, though.

Now, he’s speaking out against the new legislation, calling the bill’s co-sponsor Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) a liar on Tuesday’s show. A day later, Kimmel doubled down after Cassidy refuted Kimmel’s claims.

“Oh I get it. I don’t understand because I’m a talk show host, right?” Kimmel said on Wednesday. “Could it be, Senator Cassidy, that the problem is that I do understand and you got caught with your GOPenis out?”

Vulgar humor. It’s how the current late-night lineup rolls. Just ask Stephen (“c*** holster”) Colbert of “The Late Show” fame.

We’d respect Kimmel more if he occasionally called out liberals for their indefensible behavior. He rarely does, which means he’s just another partisan shill leveraging his late-night show to push an agenda.

He’s also unlikely to let the new bill’s defenders come on his show. He certainly won’t invite Ben Shapiro to his couch. Shapiro also has a child who underwent heart surgery by the same doctor who saved Kimmel’s son. Shapiro’s vision of health care is more conservative, though, and he’s one of the sturdiest debaters on the right side of the aisle.

That’s how the Hollywood elite roll, though. They prefer to send out tweets with their progressive talking points rather than engage in healthy debates. They wax political in interviews where the reliably liberal reporters won’t press them on any messy details.

And they adore using awards shows or monologues to advance their agendas. You can’t fact check a podium speech in real time. What could be better for stars who, in some cases, cannot intellectually defend their statements?

So consider Kimmel a prime example of the modern celebrity — political, partisan and less than eager to engage in a healthy debate without a gross joke at the ready.