Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is not letting Vice President JD Vance’s criticism slide. The comedian used his stage in Brooklyn to unload on Vance after the vice president mocked his ratings during a recent Fox News interview.
Vance had argued that broadcast giants such as ABC, NBC, and CBS “enjoy the public airwaves because they serve the public interest,” before adding that Kimmel’s ratings weren’t holding up.
“He’s currently on the air, and to the extent that he’s not, it’s because advertisers don’t like him because his ratings aren’t very good,” Vance said.
Jimmy Kimmel to J.D. Vance: "My ratings aren't very good? Last time I checked, yours were somewhere between a hair in your salad and chlamydia." pic.twitter.com/wttftbVxlZ
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) September 30, 2025
Kimmel pounced on the remarks, firing back with a string of insults.
“My ratings aren’t very good? Last time I checked, your ratings are somewhere between a hair in your salad and chlamydia,” Kimmel said. “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?”
Kimmel’s feud with the administration comes on the heels of his recent suspension. Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Sept. 17 after backlash to his on-air claim that Tyler Robinson, the accused assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was part of the “MAGA gang.”
The suspension came from Nexstar and Sinclair, but Disney reinstated him on Sept. 22.
His return drew 6.5 million viewers, a rare surge for late-night television. But the audience didn’t last. By Thursday, viewership plunged 64% to 2.3 million, and the key advertising demographic of adults 25–54 dropped 73%, from 1.7 million to 465,000. The younger 18–49 bracket saw a similar collapse.
DKimmel sharpened his attacks during the first week of the show’s return, dubbing Vance “Vice President Maybelline” and ridiculing the administration’s response to his suspension.
“Vice President Maybelline was making the rounds, attempting to defend his boss and the chairman of the FCC with a new fairytale even a 5-year-old wouldn’t believe,” Kimmel told his audience.
He also celebrated his show’s return to all affiliates after Sinclair and Nexstar lifted their preemptions.
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“I have some good news for you, J Dog,” Kimmel said. “We’re back on all the stations at every home, every bar, every strip club, and every prison in America.”
The clash highlights Kimmel’s increasingly combative stance toward the Trump administration and its allies. While some viewers cheered his defiance, his ratings volatility underscores the risks of mixing politics and comedy in the current media environment.
