Jimmy Kimmel defends free speech with return to emotional air
Jimmy Kimmel is a strong advocate of free speech and tearfully says he does not want to make light of Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Jimmy Kimmel’s wife has revealed that she has “lost” relationships with some family members over her support for President Donald Trump.
Molly McNerney, 47, said on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast that navigating her relationship with her conservative family has been “definitely difficult,” especially after Kimmel became a target of Trump’s attacks.
McNerney, who works as a producer and writer for her husband’s late-night show, said she was disappointed but felt “understandable” when Trump was first elected in 2016 because she grew up in a “very conservative Republican” family.
As for President Trump’s second term, McNerney feels less positive.
McNerney said on her show on Nov. 6 that some of her family members continue to support Trump, saying, “It hurts my heart because of my personal relationship with my husband being on the ground fighting this guy.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission criticized Kimmel’s response to the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The aftermath was a political domino effect that ultimately led local broadcasters to pull Kimmel’s show from their lineups.
After that, Disney, the parent company of ABC, which broadcasts the show, suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely. – Trump himself praised the move. Kimmel was later brought back on the air and apologized that his comments, which seemed to imply that the person who killed Kirk was a conservative, may have been misinterpreted.
“For me, for them to vote for Trump is the same as not voting for my husband and me and our family,” she added, revealing, “Unfortunately…I lost relationships with people in my family because of Trump.”
Since Kimmel’s show returned to the air, the late-night host has continued to mock Trump and criticize the president’s political policies.
“I feel like I’m always conflicted and I’m always angry, which is not healthy at all,” McNerney continued. “But I own everything now. When I see these terrible stories every day, I quickly get angry at certain uncles, aunts and cousins who put him in power. And it’s really hard.
“I emailed my family multiple times right before the election, saying, ‘Please, here are 10 reasons not to vote for this person. Please don’t.’ And I was either ignored by 90% of them or got really insane responses from a few. It definitely caused a strain,” she said later in the podcast.
“I’ve definitely moved closer to my family, where I feel more included. And you don’t want something like this to happen, right? It feels ridiculous. You know, part of me is like, ‘Don’t let politics get in the way.'” But for me, this is not politics. It’s really about values,” she explained. “And we weren’t aligned anymore.”
Kimmel and McNerney married in 2013 and have two children together.
