Jimmy Kimmel called Rudy Giuliani a corpse on national television.
America's Mayor was in the hospital five days later.
Now ABC has a problem that no PR team on earth can spin away.
The Joke That Aged in Five Days
In Tuesday night's monologue, Kimmel was still in damage-control mode over his "expectant widow" crack about Melania Trump – the one that got him called out by the President and the First Lady and turned into a corporate crisis for Disney.
Then Giuliani weighed in, calling Kimmel "distasteful."
Kimmel's response was to mock the 81-year-old as rising from the "grave."
"I have to say, it hurts to be called distasteful by a man who farted his own pants off in front of Borat's daughter," Kimmel said – because apparently one botched joke wasn't enough.
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/2051136356399649150?s=20
He also asked, on air, whether Giuliani had "any family members who can come get him already."
Five days later, political strategist Ted Goodman posted this: "Mayor Rudy Giuliani is currently in the hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition. 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. We do ask that you join us in prayer for America's Mayor."
The Pattern ABC Will Not Acknowledge
Kimmel's "expectant widow" joke aired just days before a suspected would-be assassin interrupted the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Then came the grave joke about Giuliani – five days before his hospitalization.
Kimmel calls these coincidences.
This is the same host who spent years doing a nightly political eulogy for conservatism while pulling down $16 million a year from Disney.
The same host who invited Democratic politicians on his show and wept about healthcare while refusing to book anyone who might challenge the narrative.
Kimmel's defenders will call the timing unfortunate.
That's one word for it.
Trump didn't use that word.
"Our fabulous Rudy Giuliani, a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR, has been hospitalized, and is in critical condition," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL – AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!"
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2051079728358940695?s=20
He was.
Giuliani was mocked and then methodically destroyed by the left – the lawsuits, the disbarment, the financial ruin – while the same media class that cheered every step now acts horrified that a hospitalized 81-year-old man is trending on social media.
What ABC Has to Decide Before Its Window Closes
Melania Trump has called for ABC to fire Kimmel over "hateful and violent rhetoric."
Trump himself has urged the network to act.
ABC's answer has been silence.
This is the same network that canceled Roseanne Barr in a matter of hours over a single tweet – while her show was the number one program on television.
Roseanne Barr herself said Disney fired her in 40 minutes.
Disney moved faster to cancel America's most-watched sitcom star than it has moved to address a host who joked about the First Lady being widowed and then mocked a hospitalized man as a zombie – five days before that man ended up in critical condition.
https://twitter.com/77WABCradio/status/2051273511159677223?s=20
The rules at ABC have never been complicated.
Say the wrong thing about the wrong people and you're gone before lunch.
Say it about Republicans, and they'll renew your contract.
If ABC stays silent while Giuliani fights for his life in a hospital bed, every conservative in America will have their answer about whose side this network is on – and Disney's advertisers will have to decide whether that's a position they can afford.
That's not an entertainment policy.
That's a political operation with a laugh track.
Sources:
- Brian Flood and Hanna Panreck, "Jimmy Kimmel joked about Rudy Giuliani rising from the 'grave' days before his hospitalization," Fox News, May 4, 2026.
- "Rudy Giuliani hospitalized in critical but stable condition: 'He's Fighting,'" Fox News, May 4, 2026.
- "Melania Trump calls for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel over 'hateful and violent rhetoric,'" Fox News, May 2026.
- "Trump urges ABC to fire 'seriously unfunny' Jimmy Kimmel," Fox News, May 2026.
- Celebrity Net Worth, "Jimmy Kimmel Net Worth," Celebrity Net Worth, 2026.
