Jimmy Kimmel slammed for going on hiatus after blackface controversy, fans say 'have fun being irrelevant'
Jimmy Kimmel's regular audience might have been left disappointed after tuning in to ABC to watch his live talk show from home and finding all repeat episodes for a week straight now. For those confused, the comedian has gone on a prolonged hiatus until September 2020 when he is supposed to host the Emmys. But this hiatus comes shortly after old videos of Kimmel sporting blackface resurfaced on the internet and social media decided to drag him through dirt, pouncing on him the way cancel culture has been getting to everyone. Noting the interesting chain of events that followed since his video emerged, critics are once again slamming Kimmel for going on hiatus when the time for him to get canceled, arrived.
Just a week ago, cancel culture dragged Kimmel, calling him "worse than KKK" as 2013 videos of him saying the N-word and sporting blackface resurfaced. Since then, Kimmel has issued an apology which was again slammed by his critics across social media and publications alike. Admitting that waiting some seven odd years to apologize was a mistake, Kimmel shared in a statement: "There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke."
Kimmel explained that he waited this long as he believed apologizing for them would be "celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us." Calling his past behavior embarrassing, Kimmel also added: "I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last 20-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show. I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me."
But even a week later, as the air time rolls by for Kimmel's regular slot on ABC, social media was flocked by angry users slamming his hiatus after the controversy sprung up. "Jimmy Kimmel disappeared very f**king fast didn’t he? Cancel culture knocked on his door and he played the 'he’s not here' card and they bought it and went the next Hollywood home," tweeted a user. "America is finally waking up and calling out the hypocrite celebs who use their platforms to slander/bully people for ratings and political purposes. Have fun being irrelevant," dished another.
A third critic noted: "Jimmy Kimmel fleeing Los Angeles because of a culture he helped promulgate could be a top 10 highlight of 2020 for me. Comedy needs to have a spine." Another simply tweeted to Kimmel, writing: "Kinda happens when sell out for fear. Stop cowering and stand up man show style or is that Jimmy dead?" The general consensus, however, still believes he has been "left-pandering" and can't help chuckling about the irony of cancel culture being a mostly "leftist thing." That and of course, "Jimmy Kimmel is not funny and it shows without his laugh track."
