Kimmel Has Already Promised a Political Academy Awards Show

It’s hard to tell if Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian anymore. His late-night talk show has devolved into little more than teary-eyed and agenda-driven monologues, plus nasty and unfunny swipes at the president.

Laughs seem to be a secondary goal for Kimmel today. And his hosting gig at this Sunday’s Oscars will be no different — he promised so himself.

In a Tuesday interview with “Good Morning America” about the upcoming ceremony and how much of his material would revolve around President Donald Trump, Kimmel said, “I’m still doing a comedy show and I need to be funny and entertain my audience, but I also think that we’ve matured enough to the point where we can accept late-night talk show hosts speaking about serious subjects.”

He added, “I think it’s almost necessary now.”

Kimmel also said, “You can’t go too far” in terms of poking fun at Trump — tell that to Kathy Griffin…

What’s revealing about Kimmel’s situation is that he later said he does not want to address the many sexual misconduct allegations that have recently spewed from Hollywood.

“This show is not about reliving people’s sexual assaults,” Kimmel said. “It’s an award show for people who have been dreaming about maybe winning an Oscar for their whole lives, and the last thing I want to do is ruin that for someone who is nominated.”

He added, “That’s not what I want to do. I’m not going to stop any behavior with my jokes.”

Related: Seth Meyers Goes After Trump on Concealed Carry for Teachers

If he’s not going to stop any behavior with his jokes — then why the serious swipes at President Trump?

And if he’s already going the political route by attacking the president, why would he then avoid the elephant in the room — that is, the decades of abuse within the very industry he works, in which moral grandstanding is done so often?

Kimmel is a partisan clown. He wants to aim his political humor only where it is convenient and easy.

Considering his recent comments and his previous job of hosting the Oscars, it’s fair to say this will likely be the most political Academy Awards ceremony ever.

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Last year, Jimmy Kimmel thanked President Trump in his opening monologue.

“And maybe this is not a popular thing to say, but I want to say thank you to President Trump,” he said. “I mean, remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? That’s gone! Thanks to him.”

This year, it will be that sort of “humor” but on steroids — and there will likely be few other subjects discussed by Kimmel when he takes the stage.

You could always take the high road and skip the Oscars, of course. After all, “Death Wish” hits theaters this weekend. Wouldn’t your time be better spent watching Bruce Willis take out bad guys in a “Trumpian fantasy” than watching Kimmel bumble about onstage as he somehow manages to make an already self-congratulatory night even more shallow?

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter. 

(photo credit, homepage image: Jimmy Kimmel, CC BY-ND 2.0, by Disney | ABC Television Group; photo credit, article image: Jimmy Kimmel, CC BY-ND 2.0, by Disney | ABC Television Group)