Megyn Kelly has accused late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel of needing to “feel important” and of smearing TV legend Johnny Carson.
The conservative commentator unloaded on the comedian on Thursday’s episode of her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, over comments he made on a recent episode of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s IMO podcast.
Before tearing into Kimmel, Kelly claimed that Obama’s podcast had around “4 listeners.”
“But Jimmy Kimmel needs to feel important,” Kelly seethed, suggesting that the comedian does not care about the “lofty goal” of making people laugh.
Kelly’s jab came after she played a clip from the IMO podcast, in which Kimmel said it would be “embarrassing” to avoid talking about politics and action taken by President Trump.
“It just shows a great deal of ignorance when it comes to comedy, to say, ‘Well, Johnny Carson didn’t do this,’” Kimmel continued. “Like, well, first of all, we’re living in a different time. And secondly, how do you know Johnny Carson wouldn’t do it?
“I bet Johnny Carson would talk about it,” he added. “I bet Johnny Carson would be absolutely mortified by what’s going on.”
As the clip wrapped up, Kelly said that she believed Kimmel was “wrong.”
To illustrate her point, the conservative pundit played a clip from Carson dating back to 1979.
In the recording, the legendary host responded to a question about why he steered clear of politics on his talk show.
“That’s not what I’m there for,” he said. “Why do they think that just because you have a Tonight Show, you must deal in serious issues?”
“That’s a danger. It’s a real danger,” he added. “Once you start that, you start to get that self-important feeling that what you say has great import.”
Carson went on to warn that TV show hosts could “sway people,” noting that he did not believe that to be the role of an entertainer.
After the clip ended, Kelly said that the late host’s comments were “the difference between humility and hubris,” adding that Carson was “humble” and understood the value of his role.
Kelly went on to claim that Kimmel’s comments were “smears” against Carson, arguing that the comedian was “suggesting Trump is so uniquely bad even Johnny Carson would break that rule.”
Kimmel has repeatedly gone viral for tearing into the president’s policies and public gaffes during the opening monologues of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The show was infamously taken off the air in September 2025, after he made a joke about the president’s response to the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel’s return to the air was watched by 6.3 million viewers, more than triple its usual audience.
In recent months, Kimmel and Trump have regularly exchanged jabs, with the latter describing the TV show host as a “loser” on Fox News’ The Five in March.
“He gets no ratings, none,” Trump suggested. “He’s got no talent.”
Kimmel slammed the president as recently as this week, questioning the Trump administration’s defense of an image uploaded by the commander-in-chief, which some have suggested appears to depict him as Jesus.
“First, he was Jesus. Then he was a doctor, and now it was a joke,” Kimmel said. “Why did I get kicked off the air again? I can’t remember.”
