Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel said he "probably will" address Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment allegations when he hosts the 2018 Oscars.
Kimmel talked about Weinstein and the decision to tell, or not tell, related jokes after being prompted in an interview with Vulture. The late-night talk show host expressed vexation at having received criticism for being slow to make jokes about Weinstein after allegations against the Hollywood film mogul came to light.
"I guess now I'm supposed to comment on everything that happens?" Kimmel said.
Kimmel proceeded to argue such criticism wasn't just because, as a comedian, it's not his job to respond to everything people expect.
"And by the way, it’s not just from the right. Now I see it from the left, "Aren’t you going to say anything about fill-in-the-blank?" That’s not what I do, and if I did, believe me, you’d get bored in a hurry," Kimmel said.
The reason the comedian was slow to make Weinstein jokes, he claimed, was it broke too late on a Thursday to fit into the show.
"We're not going to do that for someone who was then not even known to 90 percent of the country. I have no interest in protecting Harvey Weinstein."
The Daily Beast found, however, that Kimmel's show has in the past included jokes on stories that broke later than the New York Times Weinstein bombshell.
"I couldn’t care less about Harvey Weinstein. Hopefully, he will get what he deserves and we’ll all move on with our lives," Kimmel said.
When asked if he would "address" Weinstein when he hosts the Oscars, the late-night host said he "probably" would, before hedging on the decision.
"I probably will. It’s not really a laughing matter. There’ll be a lot of people in that room who maybe have been through experiences with him, and that’s not something I want them to relive on the night they get their Oscar," Kimmel said.
The majority of late-night comedians avoided discussing Weinstein on the day the Times story broke.
The comedian's initial silence on the Weinstein allegations stood in contrast to his recent efforts to insert himself into culturally charged current events including the debate over health care and gun control. Recently, Kimmel said "those nuts" who oppose gun control "know they bear some responsibility" for events like the mass shooting in Las Vegas.