Jimmy Kimmel is facing accusations of applying a double standard after questioning the qualifications of new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia while displaying a photograph of her at the gym during his show.
Alex Christy of the Media Research Center (MRC) made the accusation in an opinion article published Tuesday. He compared part of Kimmel’s Monday monologue with the backlash comedian Shane Gillis has received over a similar joke about women’s workout clothing during his return to “Saturday Night Live.”
Christy, part of the conservative watchdog’s ‘Newsbusters’ outfit, penned an X post calling out Kimmel as well, accusing him of hypocrisy.
Kimmel introduced his remarks about Zacharia by sarcastically suggesting that a fictional Harvard graduate with a master’s degree from Columbia had been selected for the position.
“He’s known for his fair and thoughtful — oh, wait. I’m just kidding. This is the new press secretary,” Kimmel said as he shifted to Zacharia.
A photo of Zacharia, 42, taking a mirror selfie in December 2024 filled viewers’ screens.
“Former Newsmax commentator Katie Zacharia, seen here thinking,” Kimmel joked before showing another image of Zacharia with Donald Trump at a Turning Point USA event in December of last year.
The pair were pictured giving a thumbs-up, prompting Kimmel to quip: “Katie met a number of qualifications for this job: She has blonde hair, she can do a thumbs up and… end of list, really.”
Jimmy Kimmel is being accused of a double standard by a news analyst from a conservative watchdog group following one of his monologues this week.
MRC analyst Alex Christy criticized Kimmel for questioning new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s qualifications and intelligence while showing a December 2024 photograph of her at the gym. Kimmel introduced the image by saying, “Katie Zacharia, seen here thinking.”
Christy, who focuses on late-night comedy and cable news, noted that the response to Gillis’s joke since Saturday has been “swift and harsh.”
Just over two minutes into his SNL monologue, Gillis said: “I haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t know women just dress like wh**es now?”
By contrast, Christy argued, Kimmel’s remarks received little attention. He wrote that “Kimmel put up a picture of Zacharia in a sports bra and leggings while taking a selfie at the gym and used it to suggest she’s dumb.”
The opinion piece also revisited remarks from Kimmel’s writer, producer and wife, Molly McNearney, who previously criticized jokes about Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits. “People were still making pantsuit jokes,” McNearney said. “I was like, ‘What the fuck are you doing? You’re minimizing [Hillary Clinton] to her clothes?’ We’d never talk about a man’s outfit.”
Christy concluded that, regardless of whether viewers believe Gillis was making a valid point about influencer culture or crossed a line, Kimmel’s remarks make the comparison difficult to dismiss. In his view, Kimmel “essentially told the same joke about one specific woman.”
“Yet, the political movement that considers itself to be the party of women and Kimmel to be a free speech warrior who speaks truth to power cannot be bothered when the woman is on the opposite side of the aisle,” Christy wrote.
NewsBusters describes itself as a team “dedicated to exposing & combating liberal media bias.” The website was launched in 2005.
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During the monologue, Kimmel also sarcastically portrayed Zacharia as a natural choice for President Donald Trump, pointing to what he characterized as similarities between her and her two immediate predecessors, Karoline Leavitt and Kayleigh McEnany.
Kimmel also showed a photograph of the former Newsmax host meeting Trump at a Turning Point event in December of last year. “Katie met a number of qualifications for this job: She has blonde hair, she can do a thumbs up and… end of list, really,” he said.
Christy highlighted the similarities between Kimmel’s comments and Gillis’s remarks during the comedian’s Saturday return to SNL. Gillis said during his monologue: “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like wh**es now?”
Gillis continued: “What else do you need? Where do they all get that same face? Is that makeup or do they have a machine that stamps it on?”
Kimmel also went on to criticize Zacharia and her first performance at the White House podium.
‘It was the first day of kindergarten for the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia,’ Kimmel segued. ‘You know, Trump’s been president for quite a long time now. I think it’s been about, what, 50 or 60 years?
‘And in order to keep him awake and interested every six months they bring in a new fawning blonde dolt to add to the rotation.’
The rant continued, ‘Things did not get off to a great start for Malibu Katie today. Her first briefing was brief. It was only 14 minutes long, but even in that short time she accomplished exactly what she was brought in to do, which is slobber a whole tube of lip gloss all over the president’s behind.’
Producers then played a clip of Zacharia confessing that she had wanted to work for Trump for years.
‘She wanted to work for him for a very long time,’ Kimmel said. ‘And really that’s all it takes nowadays. All it takes is that and dressing like you’re about to announce pre-boarding on a Delta Airlines flight.’
Zacharia donned a navy skirt suit with gold buttons and a white blouse for the appearance.
Zacharia took the podium for the first time on Tuesday, fueling another monologue from Kimmel that mocked her appearance
The Media Research Center is a conservative watchdog group started in 1987.
Christy’s X post has received nearly 500,000 views in a matter of hours.
Our News Outlet has approached the White House and ABC for comment.
