Noah Wyle recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote the return of his medical drama, The Pitt. Of course, that meant Wyle and Kimmel could have some fun, taking a jab at the current Administration in a slightly different way to the usual monologues.
In a pre-taped segment, Wyle, dressed as a doctor, tells everyone that vaccines will turn children into “pansexual furries,” before going on with other terrible conspiracy theories from the last few years. Yes, we’re talking about how raw milk is healthy (and raw chicken is healthier) and how 5G will give you COVID.
The skit itself was to poke fun at vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz. However, while Wyle is clearly doing the skit in a satirical way, I do fear that way too many people will believe it.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Noah Wyle have fun
The skit begins with Wyle introducing himself and the characters he’s played. While he’s now known for The Pitt, he also played a doctor on TV. After that, he makes it clear that he’s “not a real doctor,” but then goes into a bunch of medical information that’s absurd but said with such confidence that it feels like he believes it.
After rattling off information, he then gets a phone call, which happens to be from the President with the offer to head the Centers for Disease Control. If that wasn’t funny and absurd (although, maybe not so absurd considering some of the decisions for appointments) enough, as the Centers for Disease Control poster appears, Wyle jumps through it to tell everyone that “astrology is the only true science!”
Don’t believe everything you believe on the internet
We’re in an age where we can’t believe everything we hear, read, or see. Videos are made with AI, and there is plenty of misinformation out there. The irony is that people who don’t want to believe the doctors will tell you not to believe everything, because they’ve heard the opposite fact from someone else.
The problem with this skit is that people are going to believe it. They’ll look past the satirical nature of it and believe the words. Wyle is saying that raw milk and raw chicken are good for you. He plays a doctor on TV, and he’s saying it so confidently, so it must all be true, right?
And no, not everyone is going to believe this. In fact, most of the people watching Jimmy Kimmel Live! will understand the joke behind it. But there is going to be someone, and it’s probably going to be in 10 or 15 years’ time, when people have somewhat forgotten everything that’s going on right now.
Don’t believe everything you hear or read on the internet! I have zero faith in humanity, as you can probably tell.
Jimmy Kimmel Live airs on weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on ABC.