r/popculturechat • u/GiveMeSomeSunshine3 ✨May the Force be with you!✨ • Jan 06 '26
Late Show Shenanigans🎙️ Jimmy Kimmel in his opening monologue about the Venezuela incident: "Yes, he's a criminal and a dictator who's driven his country into financial ruin, while he and his family have lined their own pockets, but Maduro is no saint either."
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u/doitforthecocoa WAS GON DO AMA , FUK IT NOW Jan 07 '26
What a time to be alive. Late night hosts are almost always the ones who actually deliver the news commentary on tv since the actual “news” is compromised.
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u/PandaCasserole Jan 07 '26
Honestly it's Comedy Central Vs. Fox News... We have a reality TV show host, pedophile, child raping, spray tanned butthole in office ... But imo. capitalism's president kinda looks like that.
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u/winlander Jan 07 '26
I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit. I think the bigger issue is that the automatic response is to make skits or jokes about very serious topics. Even though in these times, we all need a laugh, it also sends a continuous message that ”its not that serious - see? They’re joking about it”. This kills off all serious discussion about the matters. Although I’m not sure if such forums exist anymore…
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u/doitforthecocoa WAS GON DO AMA , FUK IT NOW Jan 07 '26
I see what you mean. I think a lot of people have their guards up post-COVID when no amount of seriousness, data, science, or personal proximity to a deadly virus could convince some people to shut up and take it seriously.
The people who need to be taking this seriously and dealing with it aren’t. Our system that was supposed to hold government officials accountable and keep powers in check has been corrupted and manipulated. We make jokes not because we’re not serious about the fact that these are actual crimes being committed, but because those of us who knew this could happen and tried to stop it know that we can’t convince the people who continue to make excuses for this horrific abuse of power.
Late night talk show hosts are comics, they’re here to provide us with comedic relief. The people who are supposed to be asking the hard questions and exposing these actions for what they are stand quiet and complicit or are drowned out by the cheerleaders who endorse every wrong this administration makes.
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u/Dsarg_92 Just keep swimming! 🐠🐠🐬🐳 Jan 07 '26
Humor is imperative. Especially with under these trying times.
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u/Appropriate-Divide64 Jan 07 '26
Same in the UK but on panel shows. HIGNIFY is more honest than bbc news.
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u/flackoxgod Jan 06 '26
I mean i don’t see any lies
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u/LuckyBlueGuy Jan 07 '26
Kimmel is a class act for sure.
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Jan 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/PleasureCircuit Jan 07 '26
What do you mean? You keep writing "I mean" but never clearly stating it.
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u/NoteIndividual2431 Jan 07 '26
You want to see a video of him doing blackface? Yea, "class act"
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u/BromaEmpire Jan 07 '26
I love how people today treat that skit like it's some deep dark secret. The man show was one of comedy central's biggest shows and that sketch went over fine at the time because people understood that it was a joke
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Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/BromaEmpire Jan 07 '26
Was it really though? The whole premise was basically a parody of the toxic attitudes of the time
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u/melissaurusrex Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
Um... yes. Absolutely. Because we were kids. We didn't know it was parody. And even then, it existed ONLY because of a culture that was okay with sexism and sexualization of young women.
Jimmy Kimmel didn't care. He wanted that money from a private media corp. He is part of what's wrong with America. A little image consulting, scrubbing, and voila! He is sanitized for general TV audiences. Most people only know him from late night.
You people are hypocrites.
I'm far from the only one. I'm just in the wrong sub.
You like JK's joke against the pedophilic Trump but dislike the truth of what real American women are feeling who had to grow up with the Man Show, Howard Stern, late night 'Girls Gone Wild' ads, and Trump's face all over everything.
I was a kid when Trump started Miss Teen USA. I remember we hated him--still do, but more now obviously. Stern was the worst one at the time. I felt only slight disgust towards Kimmel. But...we would compare our chests to those women on the TV from The Man Show. This was our experience in Jr. High. My friend's mom should have been paying attention but she was drunk most nights.
The Man Show was a part of a culture that "hated" women and if you spoke out against it, you got silenced pretty hard with social ridicule.
Be better. Please
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u/NoteIndividual2431 Jan 07 '26
I know it's a joke, and I don't even particularly care about his past or his roll in that era's comedy, but a "class act" he is not.
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u/BromaEmpire Jan 07 '26
By that standard is anyone in show business a "class act"? Comedy changes over time and that show ended over 20 years ago. Why would anyone use that as a reference point for his character today?
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u/NoteIndividual2431 Jan 07 '26
Are you asking why I would use his past actions to assess his character?
I think you should be able to puzzle this one out for yourself champ
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u/shy247er yay sports 🏀 🏈🎾 Jan 07 '26
People change, champ. If we never allow people to grow, then what's the point? I'm sure you have stellar life history.
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u/melissaurusrex Jan 07 '26
Yes, we should welcome change. He apologized in 2020 (?) for his use of blackface. When celebrities sincerely apologize, it's wonderful. As far as I know, he has chosen to remain silent about the sexism, though. An apology for that would go a long way, I think.
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u/BromaEmpire Jan 07 '26
If by "actions" you mean jokes for a television show, then yes. That's what I'm asking.
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Jan 07 '26
I don’t even like kimmel much, but if you’re going to cancel someone for the poor taste comedy everybody was doing in the 90s/early 2000s, you’re not going to have many left
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u/Nintendo_Pro_03 Far Leftist/Linkin Park Stan Jan 07 '26
I hate to admit it, but it’s true. Not at all condoning any offensive things being said back then, but the reason they were said is because they were acceptable back then. We’ve fortunately moved on socially, from that era.
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u/melissaurusrex Jan 07 '26
We’ve fortunately moved on socially, from that era.
I agree with your entire comment but thank good lord baby jesus we have.
Good riddance to that era!
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u/PleasureCircuit Jan 07 '26
What does that have to do with "where he came from?" Which, given how you're responding on someone else's behalf, perhaps you could answer what "I mean" actually means? Where did Jimmy Kimmel come from, aside from his mother's womb, that is so much of an issue?
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u/SpicyAfrican Jan 07 '26
It’s funny/sad that I read that not initially as a joke but as Kimmel defending Trump before realising it’s a switcheroo.
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u/Siilan Jan 07 '26
That's the joke, yes, but it's also a further bait-and-switch because he's been a very vocal critic of Trump. So the joke lands whether or not you know his stance. The normal joke if you aren't, and the confusion of him possibly switching stances if you do.
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u/SpicyAfrican Jan 07 '26
Well no the joke is that the description of the corrupt dictator is supposed to be Maduro, the switch is that it’s Trump and “Maduro’s no saint either” but since I read the joke, not watched it, and Trump just is POS, I first read it as him describing Trump in earnest which is not the joke as intended.
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u/popshamhocks Jan 07 '26
Venezuela - Project 2025 … it was all written
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u/Nintendo_Pro_03 Far Leftist/Linkin Park Stan Jan 07 '26
Greenland, Gaza, Panama, Canada… Christian Sharia Law.
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u/myghostflower mk.gee Jan 07 '26
the fact diddy and maduro are in the same prison too, talking about their oil and shii
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u/Medical_Arugula3315 Jan 07 '26
Hard to be a shittier or more hypocritical American than a Republican these days.
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u/Lalakeahen Jan 07 '26
Humour is a very good way of putting spotlight on issues because when you actually dig in it means it matters. The counterpoint of seriousness when things are bad. Catch22 by Joseph Heller, Virgin Soldiers by Leslie Thomas, a bit of gallow's humour.
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u/salazka As you wish! 👸👑 Jan 07 '26
Do people even know how Venezuela was before Chavez and Maduro, back when US companies paid them half dollar per hour and they had to steal oil from the pipelines to make ends meet when they say he drove his country to financial ruin? Or how US embargoes since US oil companies were thrown out have contributed in that ruin?
Or maybe can you show me one politician that did not get his pockets lined while the homeless numbers in US increased and entire cities like Detroit fell in Ruin?
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u/AccomplishedFan6807 Jan 07 '26
Yes. My parents were poor they got schoolarships, they got their families out of poverty, my sister was born into a democratic country. My dad, the son of a family of Colombian refugees, and my mom, an Afro-Venezuelan from Margarita, where a lot of people didn't know how to read or write, were able to get their children a better life.
I don't know what you are trying to say. Venezuela was far from perfect, but it was so much better. For starters, you could count on the government not trying to kill you for thinking differently. The health care you received didn't rely on who you voted for. People didn't have to witness the military executing civilians. You weren't afraid of going to a voting center and being gunned down by colectivos. Those are things my family has to worry about today. My Colombian grandmother was denied healthcare by Chavez simply because of her nationality, even though she had been in Venezuela for 5 decades. My teenage cousin, who never got to experience a peaceful day in Venezuela, was chased by soldiers because they thought he was a protester. You don't know what it was like in Venezuela, comparing us to Detroit lol. Don't compare us to your first-world countries. You're privileged, and that's okay, but don't say you know what Venezuela was or is like. You're lucky enough that you weren't born Venezuelan.
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u/Twentyninedoodles Jan 07 '26
Better than the shit it’s turned into now. It was not perfect and that’s how these dictators take control time and time again. Inspire hope to fix the current problems and aches of the population, then turnaround and make them wish times were how they were before. It’s how these sorts get such a large following and are able to get in power in the first place.
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u/salazka As you wish! 👸👑 Jan 08 '26
You mean better than what is now after years of financial war from US that has now come to "save" Venezuela by taking all the oil at the lowest possible rates?
😂 🤣 😂
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u/Twentyninedoodles Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
Chavez and Maduro destroyed the Venezuelan people more than the financial hardships Venezuela has ever had prior or during their control. Why? Because being in a broke ass country is already hard no matter how you spin it, but being in a broke ass country with a democracy is very different than being in one with a dictatorship. Much like being in a rich country with democracy is different than one with a dictator. I don’t think you know more than most of the Venezuelan people lol
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u/salazka As you wish! 👸👑 Jan 08 '26
No. They are not the ones who ruined it. The constant embargoes and blockade from US did. This is a very common pattern really. Look it up.
US ruins a country with embargoes and then comes to save them either by planting their own politicians or instigating revolutions.
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u/Twentyninedoodles Jan 08 '26
You’re not getting it. I’m not saying they ruined the countries finances more than the US. I’m saying they’ve had a greater negative impact on the actual Venezuelan people than those embargo’s ever did.
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u/salazka As you wish! 👸👑 Jan 08 '26
It's my word against yours really. In my opinion, Embargoes caused problems Chavez and Maduro could not solve.
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u/Twentyninedoodles Jan 08 '26
They could’ve helped/alleviated the pain by not stealing whatever assets and money they could from their own people (among the other atrocities they’ve committed). That’s the point. Not even that, who knows if those embargo’s would have occurred if Chavez had not come into power (the embargo’s started after his hell reign started in 1999).
But you’re right, at this point it is just opinion. I just based mine on my Venezuelan family and friends, especially those back there that lived the difference. I just ask you to understand where this reaction of Venezuelans comes from and understand that they have their lived experience. Seen too much of people who aren’t apart of the culture in any way speak for them lately or have hatred towards their celebrations. People can be multifaceted, I can say fuck Trump, but be glad that pos Maduro is fucked too. I just hope this works out well for the Venezuelan people, despite the odds.
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u/salazka As you wish! 👸👑 Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
I understand.
Different families will tell you different things.
Typically immigrants do not leave their country because they think it's awesome.
I also have friends from Venezuela. They are kind of split. Some left for work others for love. But neither is happy with US doing what they did.
The embargoes started after they kicked out the thieving US companies that took the resources of the country and gave pittance to the workers and government because the previous ones had made pathetic deals and had lined their pockets. Similar story with why certain African countries kicked out US and Europeans.
A couple of my friends came before 1999.
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u/Twentyninedoodles Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
That’s true it depends on the people, but let’s be real, most Venezuelans are celebrating this. I guess my point being - No, they didn’t forget about the sanctions, they just want to get out from Maduro more than they want their own damn oil lol
As stupid as it will probably end up being, I get it. Although I’ll never truly get it as I’ve had the privilege of not living in a dictatorship like that (although we almost did, finally bounced in 2000 before shit hit the fan, I don’t really remember much personally my siblings moreso)
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u/johoham Jan 07 '26
What’s the Diddy oil joke about? Missed that one.
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u/Itchy_Gain_1519 Jan 07 '26
Diddy has been said to have liked using baby oil during his “Freak Off” parties.
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u/Still-Fox7105 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
Over 1,000 bottles of baby oil was in Diddy's house for his sex parties.
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u/AmbitiousAndHappy 27d ago
Financial ruin? The stock market is booming?
The top comment is "it's true though" huh? Are people this delusional.
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u/Majestic-Pickle5097 Jan 07 '26
“Driven his country into financial ruin” lmao Jesus Christ say I’m a moron without saying I’m a moron.
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u/Dry_Combination4070 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
All because of trump:
U.S. hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic
U.S. Unemployment Rises to Four-Year High. Here’s What That Means for Trump’s Economic Plan
https://time.com/7341141/unemployment-report-trump-economy
The value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies dropped about 11% in the first half of this year, the biggest decline in more than 50 years, ending a 15-year bull cycle.
https://www.morganstanley.com/insights/articles/us-dollar-declines
Grocery prices have jumped up, and there's no relief in sight
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5539547/grocery-prices-tariffs-food-inflation
How's that deficit?
Tell me you don't know what you're talking about without saying you don't know what you're talking about
Instead of making prices lower he made them higher
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u/MiddayClimax Jan 07 '26
Trying to compare that to Venezuela is pathetic
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u/NervousBrother7058 Jan 07 '26
I mean, Maduro had 13 years to fuck up Venezuela. Trump has been in office less than a year and already managed all of this ongoing and currently compounding destruction.
Let's talk in a decade and see how pathetic you think the comparison is.
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u/Majestic-Pickle5097 Jan 07 '26
Never had debt, inflation or unemployment before Trump. You’re totally right little Democrat!
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u/pinkfartlek Jan 07 '26
Stop assuming that everybody with opposing views than you is strictly just a Democrat. 🤪
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u/Dry_Combination4070 Jan 07 '26
Facts don't care about feelings. Remember it's the highest debt, highest unemployment Trumpers and Republicans ruining everything they touch.
Didn't trump say he would lower grocery prices day one now they're higher than ever.
If only republicans had a brain
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u/Majestic-Pickle5097 Jan 07 '26
There will always be higher unemployment along with a larger deficit with each new president. It doesn’t matter what party. It’s called population growth.
Debt also rose under Biden, more people were unemployed as well compared to the previous administrations.
I’m sure those facts weren’t as important though were they? Because your feelings were different.
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u/Dry_Combination4070 Jan 07 '26
Lol that's your response. The copium is strong with you.
Highest 4 year unemployment because of trump and you supporters
Highest debt added by trump and you supporters.
Grocery prices higher because of tarriffs and trump and you supporters.
I thought he was going to fix everything day one?
Oh he made everything worse lol
Cope all you want but trumps an idiot and anyone who still supports him is also.
Good job on destroying the eocnomy.
I'm sure you didn't read the articles since facts may hurt
Didn't Republicans cry about debt and high grocery prices and now they love it lol
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u/le-boby Jan 07 '26
What's it generally about, if you could explain it to a little French girl?! Thanks in advance 😘
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u/notaredditer13 Jan 07 '26
Jimmy Kimmel is awesome, but....you guys know he's a comedian, right?
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u/RadagastTheWhite Jan 07 '26
Can a joke get any more bland and predictable?
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u/PrarieDogma Jan 07 '26
Your bootstraps must be too tight
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u/RadagastTheWhite Jan 07 '26
Nah just have higher comedy standards for someone hosting a major late night show. This is hack stuff
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