Jimmy Kimmel‘s joke that Trump voters should “vote late, vote very very late” prompted a number of FCC complaints last fall.
Though he was clearly kidding, records released by the FCC in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by LateNighter show that some viewers either weren’t in on the joke or feared others might not be.
Delivering his monologue on October 30, 2024, Kimmel joked about feeling “pretty relaxed” about the then-upcoming election before urging viewers, “If you can vote early, vote early. If you can’t vote early, vote on time.”
“If you want to vote for Trump,” he added, “vote late. Vote very very late. Do your voting on Thursday, or maybe Friday.”
Jimmy Kimmel: "If you want to vote for Trump, vote late. Vote very late. Do your voting on Thursday or maybe Friday." pic.twitter.com/Il1Ch6S0eE
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 31, 2024
Cue the complaints.
“This is 100% election interference,” one viewer from San Jose, California wrote. “Jimmy should be jailed and his show be off the air. Telling viewers that share a different opinion to vote late in an election the Jimmy Kimmel knows has past its date. Please take him off the air.”
“Jimmy Kimmel is broadcasting false information about when to vote to millions of people,” complained a viewer from New Orleans, LA.
“I can’t believe the television would allow such disinformation to go on through with no recourse,” wrote a viewer from Youngstown, Ohio. “Shame on you because there are people of lesser learning abilities who could be tricked by this sort of stuff. This is not American nor is it fair.”
“This is election interference!!” wrote a viewer from Princeton, Wisconsin. “This is a federal offense!! ABC and Jimmy Kimmel must be held accountable for this! This is not a “oh, it’s a joke” situation! Even if one person takes his advice it’s a federal crime!!!
Several viewers cited the case of alt-right social media influencer Douglass Mackey, who was convicted in 2023 of allegedly conspiring to deprive citizens of their right to vote in the 2016 presidential election after he spread memes claiming that it was possible to vote for Hillary Clinton through text messages. (At least 4,900 Democratic voters who saw the memes attempted to cast their votes via text.)
The FCC complaints mirror messages shared on social media among some in the right wing, including Georgia Congressman Mike Collins, who wrote “Douglass Mackey was sent to prison for this.” Mackey himself shared that the “joke memes” he shared were seen by far fewer people than the millions who watch Kimmel.
It was the Justice Department (not the FCC), that took action against Mackey, sentencing him to seven months in prison. His sentence was stayed pending appeal.
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Kimmel tells a joke and MAGATS go off the deep end. The GOP actively interfers with voter registration and denies people of color the opportunity to vote and MAGATS are OK with that.
Where are the voters who voted late due to Kimmel’s joke. You can’t find any that’s why.
🤦 should replace 🐘 as the GOP mascot.
Kimmel is not even close to being funny.
He has no insight.
Someone please tell him to go home.
it’s good u dont have watch. I don’t watch fox
if you are so ignorant that you don’t know a joke when hear it, dont watch.
everyone knows the late night are more liberal. don’t watch!
it’s good u dont have watch. I don’t watch fox
This is stupid! Fox news lies and openly admits it. Trumps lies non-stop. This is merely late night comedy. Trumpers, you won the election and now everything is going to hell because of lies and false promises that convinced you to vote fir Trump, he is the one that should be in jail, he is the convicted fellon.