Late night host Jimmy Kimmel has
apologized for jabs at Fox News' Sean Hannity.
Hannity criticized Kimmel after he
joked about First Lady Melania Trump's accent on his show, Jimmy
Kimmel Live!
“Even her
accent.... Now, I'm going to tell you something: What a disgrace,”
Hannity responded. “Hey, Mr Kimmel, that's her fifth language.
How many do you speak?”
Over the following
days, the pair continued to trade insults, with Hannity calling
Kimmel a racist, a pervert and a “Harvey Weinstein Jr.”
Kimmel responded on
Friday by tweeting about Hannity's love for President Donald Trump.
“Don't worry –
just keep tweeting – you'll get back on top! (or does Trump prefer
you on bottom?) Either way, keep your chin up big fella..XO,”
Kimmel wrote.
Kimmel apologized
in a statement following a backlash and calls for a boycott.
“While I admit I
did have fun with our back and forth, after some thought, I realize
that the level of vitriol from all sides (mine and me included) does
nothing good for anyone and, in fact, is harmful to our country,”
he wrote.
He added that his
wife, Molly McNearney, and their son have received death threats and
encouraged “those who made them to give their words and actions
thought.”
“I, too, will
give my words more thought and recognize my role in inciting their
hatefulness,” Kimmel promised.
Kimmel said that he
stood by his “harmless” joke about the First Lady but added that
he believes Hannity was “genuinely offended” by his “silly
aside.”