Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris seemed to have gone smoothly when it aired Tuesday night, but members of anti-war group Code Pink say things unfolded very differently at the taping.
In a video shared by the group, which describes itself as a “feminist grassroots organization working to end U.S. warfare and imperialism [and] support peace and human rights initiatives,” pro-Palestinian activists in the audience at Jimmy Kimmel Live! can be seen interrupting the interview by shouting phrases like “Stop the genocide” and “You’re a murderer” to Harris.
Both the host and the vice president initially appear to ignore the comments, with Kimmel telling Harris “It’s good to have you back.” Kimmel can then be heard telling the crowd, “You’re interrupting my flow.”
Security personnel appear to remove the person disturbing the proceedings, and Kimmel can be heard telling Harris “Sorry about that,” then quipping “If anybody else has anything to say, this is the time.”
The video then cuts to a separate individual interfering with the taping. In what a Code Pink press release describes as “a chain of disruptions,” Kimmel’s house band can be heard playing over the activist’s shouting.
Footage of more interruptions follows.
The video goes on to show a security team leading more individuals out of the audience, instructing them to stop recording, and informing them that they are under arrest.
“You’re under arrest at the moment… for interfering with a live television broadcast,” one security officer says. When one of the detained individuals demands to know what law they are breaking, he replies, “You don’t need to see the law, you need to show me the ID.”
It’s unclear if the security personnel were members of Jimmy Kimmel Live! security, Harris’ Secret Service detail, LAPD officers, or some other group altogether.
The video then appears to show security locking the gates of the atrium outside the El Capitan Theatre, where Jimmy Kimmel Live! is filmed, locking the protestors inside the area.
“The gates of the building were locked by security, illegally imprisoning the peaceful demonstrators,” Code Pink states in their media release. The organization also alleges the “activists were being illegally detained” and “physically restrained with excessive force.”
According to Code Pink, the interruptions were initiated by “a coalition of peace activists.”
Code Pink claims security eventually unlocked the gates and “released the activists without further incident,” at which point they remained outside the theater to participate in a Free Palestine rally.
In their press release, Code Pink notes that the protestors are now demanding the late-night show “address and apologize for the unnecessary use of brutal force.”
The broadcast of Kimmel’s interview with Harris did not include any footage or mention of the interruptions, and neither Kimmel nor ABC has (yet) publicly commented on the incident.
LateNighter reached out to Jimmy Kimmel Live! for comment, but did not hear back before our deadline.
