Jimmy Kimmel is taking heat after joking that Rudy Giuliani “rose from the grave” in a monologue days before the former New York City mayor was hospitalized in critical condition.
“So last night, America’s mayor, Rudy Giuliani, rose from the grave to weigh in on the ongoing drama involving me,” Kimmel said on Tuesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Kimmel then played a clip of Giuliani, 81, blasting the late-night host on his podcast.
In the clip, Giuliani called Kimmel “one of the most distasteful human beings in this country.”
“I have to say, it hurts to be called distasteful by a man who farted his own pants off in front of Borat’s daughter,” Kimmel, 58, replied.
Giuliani continued in the clip, ridiculing Kimmel’s audience and mocking a parody segment.
“Kimmel was making believe that he was hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which I think he did once, I don’t know. Probably once … and about four people probably watched it, and he bombed like usual,” Giuliani said.
Jimmy Kimmel jokes about Rudy Giuliani rising from the grave before his hospitalization.
Credit: ABC pic.twitter.com/g4ewd6e8Xs
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 4, 2026
He then launched into another insult: “This is supposed to be a comedian. He’s also like an incompetent jacka—.”
Kimmel responded by taking aim at Giuliani’s past public missteps.
“I have to say, it’s confusing to be called an incompetent jacka— by a man who accidentally held a press conference outside a dildo store, who doesn’t seem to have any understanding of when videos are running and when they aren’t, and has a gallon of squid ink dribbling off the top of his head,” Kimmel said.
He added: “Does this man have any family members who can come get him already?”
Five days later, Giuliani was hospitalized in critical but stable condition for an unspecified ailment, according to a spokesperson.
“Mayor Rudy Giuliani is currently in the hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesman described Giuliani as resilient and urged supporters to pray for him.
“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak. We do ask that you join us in prayer for America’s mayor Rudy Giuliani.”
The monologue also landed as Kimmel was already facing criticism for a joke about first lady Melania Trump being “an expectant widow,” made in a parody segment tied to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
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Melania Trump, 56, demanded Kimmel’s firing in a social media post Monday after President Donald Trump and members of his administration were targeted during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
A spokesman for the first lady doubled down the next day.
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“Kimmel should be terminated. ABC should fire him now,” Marc Beckman previously told The Post.
Giuliani’s hospitalization, coming just days after Kimmel’s “grave” line, only intensified the blowback, with critics calling the joke reckless and supporters circulating the clip as proof that late-night politics has crossed a line.
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