We could be inching our way back toward a classic late-night TV feud. One host has called out Jimmy Kimmel as carrying a liberal bias after Kimmel failed to thank him during his controversial suspension from ABC.
Bill Maher seems to have his feelings hurt, according to comments the Real Time host made on his Club Random podcast. Maher believes Kimmel has a grudge against him based on Kimmel leaving Marher out of his thank-yous following his return from suspension.
"Look, Jimmy apparently doesn't like me too much anymore because he thanked everybody but me. And I was adamant, adamant, about supporting him that week and the next week," Maher said to guest Michael Rappaport.
Bill Maher supported Jimmy Kimmel
In the aftermath of Kimmel's comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination, ABC suspended the host for allegedly attempting to connect the murderer with the Republican Party. Maher didn't agree with Kimmel, but the longtime late-night host did not think ABC had the right to cancel Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
""ABC – they are steady. ABC stands for ‘Always Be Caving," Maher said on Real Time. "So Jimmy, pal, I am with you. I support you. And on the bright side, you don't have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland."
Kimmel's first post-suspension episode became a ratings hit as the comedian responded to the controversy and took time to thank his famous supporters. That included fellow late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert, and even some unexpected names on the right.
Was it a snub?
So why did Kimmel leave Maher off the list? According to the HBO star, he's not sure. But he did share a theory on why Kimmel's show faced controversy in the first place. Maher echoed Jay Leno's criticism of the current slate of late-night TV options.
"My problem with [Kimmel] and hosts like that, quite frankly – they're all quite similar in this regard – is that they're ideologically captured by one side. It's just not what I do or what I'm doing. And so, and there's a reason why half the country feels insulted by them and has turned off to them because it's just one very predictable point of view."
There's no denying that Kimmel has leaned hard to the right over the past decade on the air. And while that may alienate a certain section of the audience, he's still keeping eyes on him through television viewership and social media hits.
The simple explanation of why Kimmel snubbed Maher may be that so many people publicly defended Kimmel that he couldn't name everyone on air. But if we never see Maher on Jimmy Kimmel Live! again or hear Kimmel on Club Random, then maybe we will have a new late-night feud.