Jimmy Kimmel’s Eerily Timed Joke About Rudy Giuliani Came Right Before His Hospitalization
Jimmy Kimmel mocked Rudy Giuliani on the April 28 Jimmy Kimmel Live!, days before the former New York City mayor was hospitalized, cracking that Americas mayor had risen from the grave to weigh in on their feud, a resurfaced clip shows.
Here is the sequence: Jimmy Kimmel roasted Rudy Giuliani on TV, the clip faded, then it blew back up online a few days later when news broke that Giuliani was in the hospital. Messy timing all around.
How this round started
Kimmel, 58, has been sparring with Donald Trump, 79, for years. The latest flare-up came after Kimmel took a shot at Melania Trump, calling her an expectant widow ahead of last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. That cracked open the door for Giuliani, 81, to jump in from the sidelines.
Giuliani piles on, Kimmel swings back
On April 27, during an episode of his podcast, Giuliani went after Kimmel personally, calling him one of the most distasteful people in the country and an incompetent jackass. He also claimed Kimmel once hosted the Correspondents’ Dinner and bombed, throwing in a shruggy maybe it was once for good measure.
The next night, April 28, Kimmel answered on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and he did not bother with subtlety. He mocked Giuliani’s greatest hits: the infamous 2020 press event outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping, the hair dye drip, and a habit of getting caught on camera in the worst ways.
"It’s confusing to be called an incompetent jackass by a man who accidentally held a press conference outside a dildo store."
Kimmel also joked about someone in Giuliani’s family coming to collect him. At the time, it was just another late-night bit. Then the clip resurfaced and went viral after Giuliani’s health news landed.
The hospital news
On Sunday, May 3, word came that Giuliani had been hospitalized in Florida and listed in critical condition. His spokesperson Ted Goodman asked for prayers, saying Giuliani is a fighter who faces challenges with unwavering strength. Fox News reported the same day that he was stable despite being in critical condition. No details about the underlying illness have been released.
Quick timeline for context
- April 27: On his podcast, Giuliani rips Kimmel, calls him distasteful and an incompetent jackass, and claims Kimmel once hosted and bombed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
- April 28: On his ABC show, Kimmel fires back with the landscaping/sex shop dig, hair dye jokes, and a call for Giuliani’s family to step in. That monologue later resurfaces online.
- May 3 (Sunday): News breaks that Giuliani is hospitalized in Florida in critical condition; his team says he is a fighter and asks for prayers. Fox News adds he is stable. Cause still not disclosed.
Why Giuliani still draws this much attention
Giuliani served as New York City mayor from 1994 to 2001, presiding over a sharp drop in crime and becoming known as America’s Mayor after 9/11. In recent years, the legacy turned complicated. He was disbarred in 2024 for repeatedly lying about voter fraud in the 2020 election, which Trump lost. That pivot from post-9/11 hero to election-fraud evangelist is why a single late-night joke can set off a days-long echo online.