Former Comedy Central star and current ABC on-air personality Jimmy Kimmel has been one of the most popular figures in the world of comedy since bursting onto the scene in the late 1990's. A former sidekick to Ben Stein on 'Win Ben Stein's Money' as well as a hilarious figure on Comedy Central's 'The Man Show,' the 45-year-old continues to build on a stellar career even after his departure from the comedy network. With the ability to entertain fans through off-the-cuff humor, unscripted jokes and the creation of unique and unbelievably humorous skits, Jimmy Kimmel truly possess the skills to please a wide range of people, from all portions of the globe.
Hosting ABC's increasingly popular program 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' Kimmel and the network he calls home have enjoyed continued success since first airing following Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. Though Kimmel has been a mainstay with ABC for over a decade, the Brooklyn, New York native recently found himself in some hot water after a regular unscripted skit struck a nerve with many viewers. After the shows 'Kids' Table' skit concerning how the United States should repay the $1.3 trillion debt to China aired on October 16, hundreds of protesters recently organized themselves outside of ABC Studios in Burbank, Houston and Phoenix with the goal of having Jimmy Kimmel removed from his post with the ABC hit show.
The skit - which is focused around getting amusing opinions on various issues from children - was meant to be humorous, but after one child responded to the question of how to repay the debt in a touchy way, many folks felt the skit, the host and all those involved should be held responsible for the words spoken by the young person.
"America owes China a lot of money. How should we pay them back?" Kimmel asked his young panelists during the skit. Not taking long to come up with an answer, one guest responded "kill everyone in China." Kimmel, after a brief chuckle, then responds with a response that angered many people. "That's an interesting idea. Should we allow the Chinese to live?"
According to the Washington Post, many angry viewers even voiced their displeasure through the White House's 'We the People' on-line petition, an initiative where people are allowed to speak freely about any issues they may be facing.
"The kids might not know anything better," the petition reads. "However, Jimmy Kimmel and ABC's management are adults. They had a choice not to air this racist program, which promotes racial hatred. This is the same rhetoric used in Nazi Germany against Jewish people."
Following the growing backlash, ABC has apologized for airing the segment, noting that it was never their intention to upset the Chinese community, only to entertain a wide array of fans.
"We never purposefully broadcast anything to upset the Chinese community, Asian community, anyone of Chinese descent or any community at large," ABC said in a statement. "Our objective is to entertain. We took swift action to minimize the distribution of the skit by removing it from all public platforms available to us and editing it out of any future airings of the show."
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