Black and white portrait of Ike Barinholtz in a suit and crown-print tie, adjusting his tie clip with an exaggerated expression.
Emma McIntyre / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
TV + Movies

Jimmy Kimmel’s Guest Host Joked That Lindsey Graham’s Death Gives Them “So Many Opportunities To Get Jimmy’s Show Pulled Off The Air Again.”

By

Ike Barinholtz, guest hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday, aimed straight at the memory of ABC’s brief suspension of Jimmy Kimmel last year over a joke about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He even asked the sidekick to read “heartfelt remarks” for a friend he never had.

Ike Barinholtz in a black-and-white portrait at the 86th Annual Peabody Awards in Beverly Hills
Ike Barinholtz sits for a black-and-white portrait at the 86th Annual Peabody Awards, held at the Beverly Wilshire hotel on May 31, 2026. Photo by Emma McIntyre / Getty Images.

“What a crazy weekend,” Barinholtz said. “Mitch McConnell is alive, Lindsey Graham is dead. There’s so many opportunities to get Jimmy’s show pulled off the air again. They’re gonna pull it off!”

He then turned to Kimmel’s longtime sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, pretending the two had been close. “Guillermo, I know you and him were close friends. You hosted fundraisers for him at the Dave & Busters in Charleston. And I know you’ve prepared some heartfelt remarks. Do you want to share them with all of America right now?”

Rodriguez waved it off. “Maybe later on. Maybe later on. I’ll do it later on, yeah, yeah,” he said, and Barinholtz played it straight to the crowd: “He’s emotional, folks. He’s emotional.”

Graham, the South Carolina Republican, died Saturday night at 71. An autopsy Sunday pointed to an aortic dissection tied to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He was one of the Senate’s most active members and had been scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that morning.

Sen. Lindsey Graham questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate defense budget hearing on Capitol Hill
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Pentagon’s 2027 budget, on Capitol Hill on May 12, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images.

Barinholtz also went after Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has been out of the Senate for weeks after a health scare. “In all seriousness, though, I do want to extend well-wishes to Senator McConnell. I hope you get the quality healthcare you’ve fought so hard to deny everyone else. Pulling for you, Mitch!”

Rosie O’Donnell, a vocal Trump critic, is among the guest hosts filling in during Kimmel’s summer break.

Thanks for reading Thought Catalog. Join us on Facebook, or keep reading on our website.