“From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year”, the talk show host is expected to declare. US chat show host, Jimmy Kimmel is set to deliver Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message in 2025, after a busy year being cancelled and un-cancelled by home network ABC Kimmel attracted controversy in the US over ... Jimmy Kimmel to give Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message
“From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year”, the talk show host is expected to declare.
US chat show host, Jimmy Kimmel is set to deliver Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message in 2025, after a busy year being cancelled and un-cancelled by home network ABC
Kimmel attracted controversy in the US over comments made following the assassination of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Following the shooting in September, Kimmel said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended for five days – a move widely condemned by free-speech fans.
Still, the speech will have a broadly upbeat tone, Channel 4 have insisted, calling it a “deeply personal and characteristically jovial address.” Also with, you know, a bit about the rising tide of fascism in the US. Jovial, indeed.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “Donald Trump’s return to the White House and wide-ranging impact on the world has been the story of 2025 and it would be hard to think of a better person to address it than Jimmy Kimmel, who has found himself on the frontline of America’s battle over free speech.”
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Kimmel is the latest in a long line of zeitgeist-creators and/or national treasures to deliver the channel’s festive address. Message-deliverers in previous years include former Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, A Touch Of Frost star Danny Dyer, and an AI robot abomination called Ameca. Last year’s speech was given by Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland.
Kimmel will be the fourth American chosen to give the broadcaster’s big speech, delivered since 1993 as an alternative to the monarch’s address on BBC One. His fellow countrymen include Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson, whistle-blower Edward Snowden, and Marge Simpson (and, in a non-message-giving capacity, 340m others).
The message will broadcast on Channel 4 at 5:45pm, Christmas Day. The King’s Christmas Message will be on at 3pm – it might create fewer headlines.
