“When I say ‘Jimmy,’ you say ‘Kimmel!’”
Flavor Flav, the hip-hop musician and reality TV star, was leading the crowd in a call-and-response from the stage of the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” recorded the first of five shows Monday that will air through Friday.
This is the seventh year that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has come to New York City for “Brooklyn Week,” but the first time Kimmel has taken the stage in his hometown since his suspension and reinstatement at ABC put him in the eye of a political hurricane over censorship, government intervention and free speech.
Other guests during “Brooklyn Week” will include “The Devil Wears Prada 2” star Emily Blunt, Kumail Nanjiani, who was recently added to the cast of the Broadway show “Oh, Mary!,” Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks and — most significantly in this political late-night moment — TV host Stephen Colbert.
Hours before showtime, fans patiently stood in lines that nearly circled the entire city block. At a corner near the entrance, two people held a banner that read “Kimmel Stays! Trump Must Go!” beside images of the president and the late-night host. They were part of a group called Refuse Fascism that was handing out fliers to fans as they waited.
“We made the sign this morning,” said Rafael Kadaris, an organizer for Refuse Fascism. “But we were also out in front of ABC right after he was fired, so I think we played one small part in getting him back on the air.”
Sharon and Karen Hambright, a pair of fraternal twins near the front of the line who were sporting matching denim dresses, Nike shoes and platinum bobs, also said they had done their part.
“I deleted Disney, deleted Hulu,” said Sharon. “They said, ‘What if it’s $1.99 a month?’ I said, ‘Keep your $1.99.’”
The sisters, who grew up in Brooklyn (and literally finish each other’s sentences), had gotten their tickets for the show before the events that led to Kimmel’s suspension. They were devastated when they thought the show tonight might be canceled.
“It was a real heartbreak,” said Sharon.
“Because we’ve loved him for over 20 years,” said Karen. “We love his sincerity.”
“And he’s sexy as hell,” said Sharon.
Karen and Sharon weren’t the only fans in matching outfits. Suzy Talas and her friend Alexandria Liriano bought T-shirts from Amazon for the occasion. Talas’s read, “I ❤️Jimmy.” Liriano’s read “I ❤️ Guillermo,” referring to Guillermo Rodriguez, a parking attendant turned on-screen sidekick who has been appearing on the show since 2003.
Their shirts caught the eye of Kevin Kimmel, Jimmy’s son, who works on the show’s social media team. He gave the women oversize pins that read “Fan of the Day,” and took a picture for them.
“We’re here to celebrate freedom of speech,” said Liriano. “And we can say whatever the hell we want.”
“Personally, I love him because he loves people,” said Talas. “He loves his crowd, and he loves Latinos,” she said.
Their shirts were a perfect complement to the outfit worn by Rodriguez, who walked onstage in a hat, shirt, pants, tote bag and cape, all covered in the “I ❤️NY” logo. The crowd loved him right back.
But the biggest cheer of the night came when Kimmel himself entered. As he walked downstage, he was met with more than 20 seconds of uninterrupted cheering. It was so loud that one woman held her hands over her ears.
“As you know, over the last 10 days or so, we’ve been through quite an ordeal,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue. “And by ‘we,’ I mean Mets fans.”
Lest you forget where you were, the set was a pastiche of Coney Island shops and roller coasters, and the word “Brooklyn” was emblazoned across Kimmel’s desk in the style of a tiled mosaic on the wall of a subway station.
There were two “Applause” lights that blinked throughout the show, but they didn’t seem necessary. The crowd was on Kimmel’s side, especially when he made a reference to New York (which he wisely did many times).
The crowd was even more receptive to Kimmel’s political material, laughing when he called JD Vance “Vice President Maybelline,” booing when he mentioned President Donald Trump and cheering when he said, “No one tells somebody from Brooklyn to shut up.”
Kimmel’s newfound political import gave an extra charge to the night’s proceedings. Being in a TV audience is usually pretty fun, but it rarely has the crackle of urgency that seemed to pulse through the audience before and during the show.
Ironically, it was the Trump administration’s attempts to silence Kimmel that made a 22-year-old show hosted by a 57-year-old man feel relevant, even crucial. There was so much energy in that theater that even the terminally anodyne Ryan Reynolds seemed somehow edgier. Whether that energy could also send a jolt to ratings remained an open question.
Kimmel’s second guest was Josh Johnson, a 35-year-old YouTube phenom who was recently named a host on “The Daily Show.” Kimmel praised Johnson for the volume of stand-up material he uploads to the internet.
“You’re doing a great job,” said Kimmel.
“That’s very kind,” said Johnson. “You have the president watching you.”
The night ended with a ferocious but brief performance by Public Enemy. It’s hard to imagine a better way to end the show than with these New York legends, who spent decades making overtly political hip-hop.
Flavor Flav kicked off the set by saying, “Hey yo, Jimmy Kimmel, we are Public Enemy, and I just want you to know that Public Enemy’s always got your back.”
Unsurprisingly, the crowd went nuts.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
