Robert De Niro joined Jimmy Kimmel on stage in Brooklyn on Wednesday for a comedy bit, carrying a baseball bat and play-acting as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, complete with mock slaps and insults aimed at the host.
The sketch followed Kimmel’s remarks about ongoing friction with the FCC. “I don’t know if you know this, but the last time we were here in Brooklyn, we were just getting back on the air after we had that unexpected FCC vacation week,” Kimmel told the audience. “And while I would like to say that things have improved over the last year, they haven’t really. We are still being threatened by the FCC.”
De Niro then walked onto the set in character, demanding to know who was doing the threatening. “You’re being threatened by the FCC? Who is threatening you? Am I threatening you? Do you feel threatened by me?” he said.
He went on to rattle off a string of jabs at President Donald Trump, asking Kimmel whether he had said them, prompting Kimmel to ask, “What is the point of this?” De Niro shot back, “Did I tell you it was your turn to talk, numbnuts? You speak when I tell you to speak, and otherwise you shut the f— up,” while appearing to slap him.
Later in the bit, De Niro asked, “Did you say that President Trump has touched more women than the music of Adele?” When Kimmel suggested the line was funny, De Niro replied, “You’re doing it again! Am I going to have to tie your d— to a bag of doorknobs and kick you down the stairs?”
The FCC did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
White House Responds
White House spokesman Davis Ingle criticized De Niro in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling him “a washed-up has-been who hasn’t been relevant in 30 years” and accusing him of “spewing hate speech and inciting violence against others.”
Ingle also took aim at Kimmel, describing him as “a no-talent loser who has beclowned himself with tanking ratings and by spewing disgusting lies to his dwindling audience.”
Background on the FCC Dispute
Kimmel’s show returned from a summer break on Sept. 8 following tension with federal regulators. Marking the program’s 4,000th episode that night, Kimmel noted, “According to the White House, it’s too many shows,” and added, “There are those who said we would never last this long. There are even those who used the regulatory might of the FCC to unconstitutionally try to make sure we didn’t last this long. But we did it the hard way, Brendan. And we are still here.”
On Tuesday, radio host Howard Stern appeared on the show and warned ABC against taking action against Kimmel. “He has done everything for the company. And I hope that they keep that in mind,” Stern said. “If something goes wrong, oh, is ABC going to have hell to pay. Am I correct? Are you with me?”
