We Thought We Knew Kimmel

I rarely watch Jimmy Kimmel. I'm usually in bed before those shows come on. I'm not tough enough to stay up late. Morning person. That said, I sometimes scroll through YouTube and catch an opening monologue here or there from the late-night crowd. It’s background noise while I’m on the treadmill. I enjoy the comedy, the political satire and the hilarious spin on current events. If I'm honest, I tend to ignore Jimmy Kimmel. In the past, he's been a bit much for me when it comes to politics.

However, when I heard that 6.3 million people tuned in to watch Kimmel’s return, I had to see for myself. What I witnessed wasn’t what I expected. It was surprising, almost unsettling. Unsettling, in that, I wasn’t sure how to categorize my emotions.

The man who so often leans on sarcasm and irony walked out carrying something heavier: sorrow. His voice cracked as he spoke about Erica Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, murdered in an act that left the nation stunned.

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What struck me was not Kimmel defending himself against critics who accused him of cheap shots or opportunism. It was where he chose to place the spotlight: Erica’s forgiveness of her husband’s assassin. He even aligned that forgiveness with the heart and teachings of Jesus (see the clip here).

In a media environment built and profiting off of outrage & fear, forgiveness doesn’t trend. It just doesn't. It doesn’t fit the algorithm. Yet Kimmel paused long enough to let the weight of that act hang in the air. “She forgave him,” he said, with tears in his eyes. “A selfless act of grace… It touched me deeply.”

At that moment, it wasn’t comedy. It wasn’t spin. It was a man watching another human respond to evil in a way that most of us cannot even imagine.

And that’s where the plot twist lies.

We thought we knew Kimmel. The sarcastic late-night liberal, mocking the news, politicizing tragedy. We thought he’d come back swinging, lashing out, turning criticisim into punchline. Most of the time, that kind of humor is funny. Not this time. Instead, he disarmed by confessing his humanity, his frailty, by pointing to a kind of mercy that makes no sense in a world obsessed with vengeance.

What we thought of Jimmy Kimmel isn’t really what it is. Stay with me here. He is still flawed, still guilty at times of easy rhetoric and maybe an unfair punchline. But in that moment, he became something more complex: a mirror. Not of our humor, but of the contradictions inside of us. We are quick to rush to condemn. We cling to anger. Forgivness is rare and certainly doesn't come easy. Maybe I'm just talking about myself here. How quickly I can rush to profile, label, and categorize another human being. When I do that, I can see how quickly I look beyond the humanity of the human being. Kind of ironic and sad, isn't it? I wonder if you can relate to me?

Jimmy Kimmel is not a saint for crying on stage. Not my point. I’m just suggesting that we should notice the conflict that he exposed. He may not have even realized he was doing it but I saw it. Public figures aren’t just caricatures. They stumble, they grieve, they sometimes grow.

And occasionally, they remind us that forgiveness, however seemingly impossible, still has the power to shock the world more than any monologue ever could. That's a God idea and God ideas are always good ideas.

Peace and love to you all. ~ Paul