ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel and Fox News personality Sean Hannity have been getting into it over the past week with digs taken at one another on their respective TV outposts and on social media that have included (among other things) Hannity branding Kimmel “Harvey Weinstein Jr.” Sunday saw what may be a de-escalation in the feud and Kimmel offering an apology for going to the gay joke well in their war of words.
Kimmel offered a statement on Twitter reflecting on his jousting with Hannity and while he conceded parts of their spat have been “fun,” he expressed concern about “the level of vitriol from all sides” in the beef. The two-time Oscar host declared he would make an effort to give his words more thought and he asked the same of his more aggressive critics. Kimmel also apologized for an element of his approach.
“By lampooning Sean Hannity’s deference to the President, I most certainly did not intend to belittle or upset members of the gay community and to those who took offense, I apologize,” offered Kimmel in the statement.
re. @seanhannity pic.twitter.com/DMtWJTMsDU
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) April 8, 2018
Will this response ease Kimmel-Hannity relations? Probably not. There are a few barbed lines tucked into this statement, plus Hannity is vowing a response on his show come Monday.
https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/983047698772307968