Jimmy Kimmel had the daunting task of being the first to take the stage Monday and open ABC’s portion of the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour following a weekend that featured not one, but two mass shootings in the U.S.
The late-night host and increasingly prolific producer was asked first to comment on the deadly attacks in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, and then, later, address the increasing role of late-night hosts to comment on political events.
“[President Trump] handles everything beautifully as we know,” Kimmel said from the TCA stage. “It’s horrible and I think now there’s an expectation that late-night talk shows will address these horrible things. I wish we didn’t have to but nobody is doing anything about it at all. We seem to forget about these tragedies nationally four days after they happen.… I don’t have any thoughts that are new or groundbreaking and usually by the time we get on the air there’s been 24-48 hours of news coverage to just remind people that 97 percent of Americans believe that we should have background checks for purchases at gun shows and our politicians don’t seem to care about what we think anymore.”
Kimmel, ABC’s longest-tenured late-night host, recently inked a new three-year deal to remain with the Disney-owned broadcaster, for whom he also exec produces Live in Front of a Studio Audience and a newly announced game show with Mark Burnett, gave credit to David Letterman and Jon Stewart for using their TV platforms to address current events and express remorse that his peers continue get political so frequently.
Kimmel also revealed that he has zero plans to run for office or return to hosting the Oscars, the latter of which is a job he’s done twice in his career. He called the gig a “no-win situation” that is almost always met with equal parts celebration and criticism. “If you don’t care what people say, it’s a good gig. I do [care], so for me it’s a fucking nightmare,” he deadpanned.
As for running for office, he compared that to coaching his son’s basketball team and having to deal with parents demanding more playing time for their kids. “My response was, ‘You wanna coach this team?!’ That’s what I’d be doing the whole time; I don’t have the patience for it.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter