Jimmy Kimmel just couldn’t resist turning a Christmas message into a political soapbox, stirring up a storm with his sharp jabs at the United States during a UK broadcast.
According to Fox Business, during Channel 4’s annual "Alternative Christmas Message," aired on Christmas Day 2025, Kimmel unleashed a barrage of criticism against his home country and President Donald Trump, prompting swift backlash from conservative commentators and social media users.
This yearly broadcast, positioned as a counterpoint to the BBC’s traditional Royal Christmas address, offered Kimmel a platform to vent grievances far from American soil.
In his speech, Kimmel didn’t hold back, declaring that "tyranny is booming" in the U.S., a statement that raised eyebrows for its dramatic flair.
He went as far as to apologize to the British audience on behalf of Americans, suggesting a deep national shame while claiming Trump sought to silence him for not offering blind admiration.
Such bold claims from a late-night host might play well with some, but they strike others as a tad hypocritical when Kimmel’s voice remains loud and clear on national television.
Critics were quick to pounce, with RealClearPolitics co-founder Tom Bevan labeling Kimmel’s remarks as contradictory and calling him "insufferable" during a segment on "America’s Newsroom."
Bevan pointed out the irony: if oppression is truly rampant, how does Kimmel continue to air his grievances nightly without consequence?
On social media platforms like X, others echoed this sentiment, questioning why Kimmel would critique his own nation’s freedoms while overlooking reported free speech concerns in Britain, such as arrests over online posts.
This isn’t Kimmel’s first brush with controversy, as earlier in 2025, Disney briefly pulled his show off the air after he linked a suspected shooter to Trump supporters, prompting several local broadcasters to refuse to air his content for days.
Upon his return, Kimmel insisted he hadn’t meant to trivialize the incident, and interestingly, the drama led to a temporary ratings spike for his program.
Yet, despite this bump and a recent contract extension with ABC stretching into 2027, Kimmel and other late-night hosts continue to grapple with declining viewership, a trend Bevan attributes to their narrow focus on anti-Trump rhetoric.
While Kimmel paints a picture of stifled expression, his ability to deliver such a scathing critique on an international stage undercuts his own narrative of victimhood.
Conservatives might argue that true tyranny doesn’t allow for public dissent, let alone a lucrative TV career spent criticizing leadership—Kimmel’s ongoing platform suggests a freedom many around the world can only dream of.