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Robert De Niro made a surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s comeback show, following the host’s ‘indefinite’ hiatus.
The Oscar laureate, 82, appeared virtually on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, taking on the role of a fictional new chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during a comedy sketch.
The duo parodied the FCC’s stance on free speech after Kimmel, 57, was taken off air last week following his remarks about the assassination of conservative political figure Charlie Kirk at age 31.
De Niro embraced his signature mob boss persona, famously seen in many of his film roles, at one point questioning Kimmel, ‘What the f**k did you just say to me?’
When Kimmel informed De Niro that profanity could lead to fines from the FCC on broadcast TV, De Niro retorted: ‘I am the f*****g FCC, I can say whatever the f*** I want.’
‘It seems like a bit of a threat to me, Chairman,’ Kimmel commented. ‘Just me, Jimmy, as the FCC chair, gently advising you to gently shut the f**k up,’ De Niro answered.
Robert De Niro, 82, made a surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s, 57, comeback show, following the host’s ‘indefinite’ hiatus
The Oscar winner made a virtual cameo on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing as a fictional new FCC chairperson in a comedy sketch
The bit started out with Kimmel explaining that he was expecting to speak with the real FCC chairman, Brendan Carr.
‘Were you appointed FCC chairman by Donald Trump?’ Kimmel inquired. ‘Sir Trump, indeed,’ De Niro answered. ‘I used to do some jobs for a certain individual in Atlantic City.’
‘But did I just hear you on the phone threatening Whoopi Goldberg?’ Kimmel asked.
‘No, I would never threaten Ms. Goldstein. I was just teaching her a lesson about consequences,’ De Niro replied.
Kimmel then suggested that the FCC is using ‘mob tactics to suppress free speech.’
‘What the f**k did you just say to me?’ the actor asked.
De Niro also said that speech ‘ain’t free no more’ adding, ‘we’re charging by the word now.’
‘How much are you charging?’ Kimmel inquired.
‘Depends on what you want to say. Like you wanna say something nice about the president’s beautiful thick yellow hair, how he can do his makeup better than any broad, that’s free.’
‘But if you wanna do a joke like he’s so fat he needs two seats on the Epstein jet, that’s gonna cost you,’ he added.
‘Can I just ask, just for clarity, because it’s a pretty good joke, how much would that one cost me?’ Kimmel asked.
The two lampooned FCC over free speech, after Kimmel was booted off the air last week over his comments about conservative political activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination
De Niro leaned into the mob boss persona he’s known for playing in films over the years, at one point asking Kimmel, ‘What the f**k did you just say to me?’
‘It’s just me, Jimmy, the chairman of the FCC, gently suggesting that you gently shut the f**k up,’ De Niro later added
‘Couple of fingers, maybe a tooth,’ De Niro quipped.
De Niro later said the new motto for the FCC is ‘Sticks and stones may break your bones.’
‘And… well, the rest of that is “But words can never harm you,”‘ Kimmel said.
‘Oh, well, they can harm you now,’ De Niro warned. ‘Let’s make sure you pick the right words. Capisce?’
Towards the end De Niro made a dig at Trump’s recent bombshell announcement about Tylenol use during pregnancy being linked to autism.
‘Look, I gotta go. A couple of cases of Tylenol fell off a truck, and now I got to figure out how to put autism in them.’
Kimmel fought back tears as he tried to explain his statement on Kirk in his first show back on ABC since he was suspended over his comments about the late TPUSA founder.
The host previously insinuated that Kirk’s alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, 22, was a conservative, even though evidence indicates he held far-left ideologies.
De Niro has appeared on Kimmel’s show on a number of occasions; They are pictured in 2016
‘It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,’ he said, fighting back tears. ‘I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.’
He referenced his post on Instagram sending love to Kirk’s family and said he still does.
He then tried to explain what he said about Kirk but did not directly apologize.
He said it was not ‘my intention to blame any specific group for the actions what – it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual,’ he said.
‘That was really in the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.’
Kimmel also praised Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, for forgiving alleged shooter Robinson at her husband’s funeral on Sunday.
‘She forgave him. That is an example we should follow,’ he said to applause.
‘If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, that’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, I hope it touches many,’ he said, amid more tears.
‘And if there’s anything we can take from this tragedy to carry forward, it can be that and not this,’ he added, referencing the controversy.
He thanked his fellow talk show hosts, fans and even conservatives who defended him.
Kimmel welcomed first guests back Glenn Powell – who said he was ‘honored’ and ‘glad’ the host was back – and singer Sarah McLachlan.
Kimmel fought back tears as he tried to explain his statement on Kirk, in his first show back on ABC since he was suspended over his comments about the late TPUSA founder
Kimmel had insinuated that Kirk’s alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, 22, was a conservative, even though evidence indicates he held far-left ideologies; Kirk pictured on September 10
He also praised Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk (pictured) for forgiving Robinson at her husband’s memorial on Sunday. ‘She forgave him. That is an example we should follow,’ he said
Kimmel also took on president Trump directly by branding him a humorless enemy of free speech during his monologue.
‘The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,’ Kimmel said.
‘He was able to squeeze Colbert out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me, and now he’s openly rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don’t make millions of dollars,’ he added.
‘And I hope that if that happens, or if there’s even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week.’
At the end of the show, he joked: ‘I think we’ll be back tomorrow night, see you then.’
However, Sinclair and Nexstar stations, which make up about a third of ABC’s affiliates, will not be showing the program.
The host previously said that ‘the MAGA gang’ was attempting to portray the suspect in Kirk’s killing ‘as anything other than one of them.’
ABC’s parent company, Disney, announced that it had suspended the show to ‘avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotionally charged moment for the country.’
But, after ‘having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy,’ the company announced Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to its airwaves on Tuesday.
De Niro and Kimmel also took aim at President Donald Trump during the show; Trump pictured September 23
More than 400 celebrities, including former Disney stars, signed a letter supporting Kimmel after Disney suspended his late night show.
The letter, released by the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday, declared Kimmel’s cancellation a ‘dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.’
The letter was supported by nearly 500 signatures, including De Niro and celebrities such as Alan Cumming, Ariana Grande, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Cyndi Lauper, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, John Mulaney, Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Misha Collins, Pedro Pascal, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hanks and Zayn Malik.
Former Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, and Maia Mitchell were also named on the list of celebrities supporting Kimmel.
Hours after the letter was published, Kimmel’s return was announced by ABC.
