Just days before Rudy Giuliani was urgently hospitalized, Jimmy Kimmel made a quip about the former New York City Mayor being metaphorically ‘in the grave’.
During his show, the 58-year-old comedian was addressing criticism over a previous joke related to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when he took a jab at Giuliani, who is now 81.
“America’s mayor, Rudy Giuliani, seemed to rise from the grave to comment on the ongoing situation involving me,” Kimmel remarked on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Kimmel then shared a clip from Giuliani’s podcast where the former mayor labeled him as “one of the most distasteful human beings in this country.”
Amid audience boos aimed at Giuliani’s comments, Kimmel retorted, “It’s quite something to be called distasteful by a man who literally lost control in front of Borat’s on-screen daughter.”
Despite the uproar, Kimmel continued to showcase more of Giuliani’s podcast segment.
‘Kimmel was making believe that he was hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which I think he did once, I don’t know. Probably once… and about four people probably watched it and he bombed like usual,’ said Giuliani.
‘This is supposed to be a comedian,’ he continued. ‘He’s also like an incompetent jacka**.’
Jimmy Kimmel joked on his show Tuesday that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘rose from the grave to weigh in on the ongoing drama involving me’
Kimmel played a clip from Giuliani’s podcast in which he called the late night host ‘one of the most distasteful human beings in this country’
Giuliani (pictured in January 2025) was rushed to the hospital in critical condition on Sunday
But Kimmel laughed off Giuliani’s comments.
‘I have to say, it’s confusing to be called an incompetent jacka** by a man who accidentally held a press conference outside a dildo store, who doesn’t seem to have any understanding of when videos are running and when they aren’t and has a gallon of squid ink dribbling off the top of his head,’ the comedian shot back.
‘Do you think – does this man have any family members who can come get him already?’
Just four days later, a spokesperson for Giuliani announced that he had been rushed to the hospital.
‘Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,’ spokesman Ted Goodman said.
‘We do ask that you join us in prayer for America’s Mayor – Rudy Giuliani.’
It remains unclear why the 81-year-old was hospitalized in Florida.
But he was previously heard coughing and sputtering on a livestream posted to his Facebook page Friday night.
As it started he said: ‘My voice is a little under the weather so I won’t be able to speak as loudly as I usually do.’
Kimmel has been facing backlash for a joke he made ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in which he called First Lady Melania Trump an ‘expectant widow’
Meanwhile, Kimmel continues to face criticism for his joke about the First Lady, which came just days before suspected gunman Cole Tomas Allen, 31, opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in an apparent assassination attempt.
Melania responded by slamming ‘Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric’ which she claimed was ‘intended to divide our country’.
‘His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,’ the First Lady wrote on X Monday morning.
She called on ABC to ‘take a stand’ against Kimmel, while the president went further by saying he should be ‘immediately fired’.
‘I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
‘Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.’
But Kimmel claimed his joke was just pertaining to the ‘age difference’ between Trump and his wife, not an assassination.
He also condemned the shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner while offering condolences to everyone impacted.
Kimmel’s joke came just days before suspected gunman Cole Tomas Allen, 31, (pictured) opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in an apparent assassination attempt
‘It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,’ the comedian said.
‘It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that.’
‘I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular,’ he added.
‘But I understand that the First Lady had a stressful experience over the weekend and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house.’
Kimmel then twisted Melania’s words to criticize her husband again.
‘I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it,’ he quipped.
Kimmel then pointed out that both he and Donald Trump were legally protected by the First Amendment.
‘By the way, I should point out Donald Trump is allowed to say what he wants to say, as you are you, as am I, as are all of us, because under the First Amendment we have a right as Americans to free speech,’ he said to applause from his audience.
Still, the Federal Communications Commission has ordered early reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations – which could lead the federal agency to revoke the stations’ licenses and ultimately take them off the airwaves.
It is the first crisis Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro must face as he now has to decide how to respond to mounting pressure to fire Kimmel.
The Daily Mail has reached out to ABC and representatives for Kimmel for comment.
