Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime pal Adam Carolla has come to the embattled late-night host’s defense following criticism Kimmel received for his past blackface impressions.
On his daily podcast, “The Adam Corolla Show,” the “Loveline” host called Kimmel, “in my top three of all-time decent people I’ve ever met in my life.
“He is the most generous person you’ve ever met. If everyone was like Jimmy Kimmel, we’d be living in a f–king utopia,” he added.
Carolla, 56, co-hosted Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” with Kimmel, 52, from 1999 to 2004.
Carolla’s defense came on the same day that Kimmel issued an apology for impersonations he did years ago of basketball player Karl Malone and other Black celebrities on radio and on “The Man Show.”
“I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us. That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.” Kimmel wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
“I’ve done dozens of impressions of famous people, including Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie, and many others. In each case, I thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more,” Kimmel went on to say. “Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices.”
The sketches caused outrage on social media with many calling for Kimmel to be fired. Coincidentally the Brooklyn-born Kimmel announced last week that he is taking a summer vacation noting that, “there’s nothing wrong, my family is healthy, I”m healthy, I just need a couple of months off.”
Carolla also sought to defend Kimmel’s impersonations calling them impersonations and not blackface.
“I was saying this years ago and I meant it. Blackface is something. Doing Karl Malone is something else or doing Oprah is something else … That is not blackface,” Carolla opined.
He also declared that comedians are supposed to push boundaries.
“Could we remove the jewelers’ loupe and the spotlight from comedians? Politicians, OK, they’re making policy … even coaches or moms or dads, fine. Comedians are there to push things,” he added.
Kimmel is still slated to host the Emmys which will take place on Sept. 20.
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