Jimmy Kimmel took a shot at Vice President JD Vance following Vance’s comments about Kimmel’s temporary suspension from television. Kimmel, 57, found himself off the air last month after making remarks concerning conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who had been fatally shot in Utah during a Prove Me Wrong event on September 10.
ABC decided to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on September 17, a move that drew significant backlash from both Hollywood and political figures. In response, more than 400 celebrities signed an open letter opposing the suspension, which was eventually lifted five days later.
Initially, Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexstar Media Group were reluctant to bring back the late-night show, but last week they announced the program’s return.
On Monday, September 29, Kimmel addressed his brief absence and the networks’ decisions while performing at the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
During a recording of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Kimmel referred to Vance, 41, humorously as ‘Vice President Maybelline’ and suggested Vance was ‘making the rounds, attempting to defend his boss and the chairman of the FCC with a new fairytale even a five-year-old wouldn’t believe’.
Kimmel then showed a clip from an interview Vance had with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, in which Vance attempted to dismiss claims that FCC chairperson Brendan Carr and President Donald Trump used their influence to get Kimmel’s show suspended following the viral Kirk comments.
“I’d like them to tell me exactly what Brendan Carr did to have Jimmy Kimmel taken off air because number one, he is currently on the air. And to the extent that he isn’t in certain stations, it’s because he’s not funny, because his ratings aren’t very good,” Vance claimed.
In response, Kimmel quipped: “I have some good news for you, J Dog. We’re back on all the stations at every home, every bar, every strip club and every prison in America.”
Referring to Vance’s remarks about ratings, Kimmel joked: “Last time I checked, your ratings are somewhere between a hair in your salad and chlamydia.”
Kimmel’s ratings have declined over the years, from averaging 2.4 million viewers in 2015 to 1.77 million in the second quarter of 2025. Forbes suggests this is likely due to changing viewing habits rather than Kimmel’s performance. In key demographics favored by advertisers, he still outperforms competitors like Stephen Colbert (219,000 from April to June 2025 – his show was recently canceled) and Jimmy Fallon (157,000).
Kimmel’s return on Tuesday, September 23, saw viewership triple to 6.3 million, although numbers dipped later in the week.
In contrast, Vance’s approval ratings show that 51 percent of Americans view him unfavorably, 40 percent favorably, with eight percent unfamiliar with him, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of 3,445 US adults.
Kimmel continued: “In three and a half years, I’m not the one who’s going to be doing mascara tutorials on YouTube.
“How did we wind up with a president and a vice president who wear more makeup than Kylie Jenner and Lady Gaga combined?”
President Trump, 79, has previously criticized ABC executives for allowing Kimmel to return to the air.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, the 47th President expressed his intent to challenge Disney-owned ABC, stating that the host put the network ‘in jeopardy’ and threatened to put the broadcaster ‘to test’.
“Let’s see how we do,” the president continued. “Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”
UNILAD previously contacted ABC for comment.