After a week of barbs traded on Twitter and on each of their shows, Jimmy Kimmel and Sean Hannity appear to have reached an uneasy truce in their feud over Melania Trump, with the Fox News anchor conditionally accepting the ABC host's attempt to de-escalate tensions Monday.
The drama started with a segment Kimmel did last Monday on his show mocking first lady Melania Trump's accent as she read a book to children at the White House's Easter Egg Roll.
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A few days later, on Wednesday, Hannity criticized the segment on his show.
“This is brutal — liberal Jimmy Kimmel making fun of the first lady of the United States and her involvement in the White House Easter Egg Roll, even her accent. Jimmy, you’re a despicable disgrace,” Hannity said, calling him “Ass Clown Kimmel.”
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Kimmel then shot back with a four-minute monologue against Hannity on his own show the next night, calling out the Fox News host's support for former Alabama Senate candidate and accused sexual predator Roy Moore.
My love letter to @SeanHannity #ASSCLOWN @FoxAndFriends
That prompted Hannity to air sketches of Kimmel on The Man Show that involved him asking women to "touch his pants." Hannity dubbed Kimmel "Harvey Weinstein Jr."
So @jimmykimmel (aka Harvey Weinstein jr) I’ll have much more tomorrow...... @Disney Tick Tock.. Best Sean #pervertkimmel
Kimmel shot back that those sketches were "televised comedy bits in which every woman was a willing participant."
I vote for whichever one best helps you trivialize the horrors of Harvey Weinstein by comparing them to televised comedy bits in which every woman was a willing participant who gladly signed a release https://t.co/6jlpRqtttY
Kimmel also brought up Hannity's past defense of President Trump's comments that his fame allowed him to grab women "by the pussy."
The answer is yes. Every woman involved WILLINGLY participated - it’s called a comedy bit. It’s what you’ve been unwittingly doing for years. Now YOU answer THIS question. Would you want your daughter being “grabbed by the pussy”? Yes or no? https://t.co/T51yTnoyVc
And the exchange continued, with Hannity again defending Trump's comments as "locker room talk."
Stop deflecting @jimmykimmel, locker room talk vs. your interactions with women asking them to touch it or put their mouths on it. Maybe you need a reminder, you can see it all tonight on #hannity at 9ET. #pervertkimmel
The back-and-forth continued to go downhill from there, with Kimmel and Hannity trading jabs about their ratings and descending into anti-gay jokes about sucking up to Obama and Trump, respectively.
When your clown makeup rubs off on Trump’s ass, does it make his butt look like a Creamsicle? https://t.co/DEhmfOh0Hn
Harvey Jr, you have over 100 writers (you are in last place) That’s all you have? #KeepUp. You are a poor man’s Colbert. #pervertkimmel https://t.co/7H0V2IYJEK
And you, a poor woman's Rachel @maddow (she's beating you bigly, right?) Now answer the question. https://t.co/S68GOiOx5x
I was number one for all of Cable news in 2017 and the number one most watched show in the first Qtr of 2018. And both Hannity and @MaddowBlog kick your ass every night Mr Weinstein jr on ABC @Disney. And Fallon and Colbert also kick your ass. Perverts like you fail on TV. https://t.co/KP9SAXtNwV
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 https://t.co/R4QJCoGYCL
Harvey Jr, @realDonaldTrump and I don’t have the creepy perverted relationship that you must have had with Obama. So Stop projecting. For the sake of 18 year old girls in America, Have you thought about going to Harvey Sr’s Sex Rehab? #pervertkimmel @Disney https://t.co/PlOeju5cAl
Dear @SeanHannity thx for the trip down Man Show memory lane. The idea that YOU'd call ANYONE a “pervert” while slobbering over Trump, Ailes, O’Reilly and, YES, Roy Moore – who you DID SUPPORT is, to quote a fella you love very much, “Sad!” #nobodyissafefromKimmelspervertedwrath
Dear Mr Weinstein jr. you are a disgusting pervert. Stop projecting. How you treat the First Lady helping kids is disgusting. How you treat 18 year old girls is disgusting. And your show is a failure. Game on you pervert pig. I’ll be on this till you apologize. https://t.co/wfisPQoaLs
I’m starting to think SOMEONE has a crush on me! https://t.co/PPhSOqBeWn
Jimmy (aka Harvey Weinstein Jr) I LOVE it that you like getting your ass kicked like this. I’ll keep exposing you as the pig, pervert and racist you are. #pervertkimmel @disney https://t.co/mhib687lzN
Sounds like a win-win. If only Congress could get along as well as you and I do. Goodnight sweet Sean. https://t.co/A0e6pDvw6P
All of this culminated on Friday night when Hannity declared, "For me this is it. I'll just stay on this and I'll roll tape of Jimmy Kimmel every night for the rest of my career." He spent more than half his show that night talking about Kimmel.
"I think for me this is it, I will stay on this and I will roll tape of Jimmy Kimmel every night for the rest of my career" https://t.co/jOnNNbzXoK
On Sunday, Kimmel tried to put an end to all the drama, apologizing for the Melania Trump joke, as well as his anti-gay comebacks to Hannity.
re. @seanhannity
"While I admit I did have fun with our back and forth," Kimmel wrote, "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 added that his family had been the subject of death threats during the feud.
Responding to Kimmel's somewhat conciliatory tweet on Sunday, Hannity wrote on Twitter that he will "have a full and comprehensive response" on his show tomorrow.
Just had this pop up. I am at a tournament with my daughter. I’ll have a full and comprehensive response tomorrow on Hannity. 9 EST FOX. https://t.co/JLdZDa07BI
Hannity did indeed address the controversy Monday, dissecting Kimmel's apology for his viewers in the opening segment of his Fox News show.
"On the surface, I will be honest, it seems to be more of a forced Disney corporate apology directed more towards the LGBTQ community rather than about Kimmel's comments about the first lady," Hannity said. "But honestly, that's ultimately up to you to decide here."
But, he added, "I believe everyone should accept apologies...I choose to believe he is being sincere."
"I really do enjoy a good fight and I do agree with Jimmy in this sense it's time to move on," he said.
Hannity later invited Kimmel to appear on his Fox News show — and warned that he has fresh attacks ready if the late-night host decides to reignite their feud.
"Jimmy, if you do want to start up again, I promise I will punch back even harder," Hannity said, concluding the segment Monday. "My producer spent all weekend compiling a lot of your highlights or low lights in your career. They don't make you look too good. Instead of airing them, we will put them in storage."