Kimmel said there is a 'good possibility this guy is Borat'
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was slammed on Twitter this week after saying that a tweet from Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about the negative effects of coronavirus lockdowns was "nonsense."
"Wow! we each gained 29 lbs?" the television host said in response to a tweet from Kennedy that said Americans gained 29 pounds, on average, during the coronavirus lockdowns.
"That almost sounds like nonsense! (there’s a good possibility this guy is Borat)."
Twitter later added a "community note" to Kennedy’s post to clarify that a study showed that out of the 42% of Americans who gained weight during the pandemic, the average weight gain was in fact 29 pounds. Kimmel was slammed and "ratioed" by social media users who accused him of not knowing what the word "average" means.
Jimmy Kimmel, left, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Getty Images)
"This is a cited statistic from the APA, tubby," Blaze TV Host Sarah Gonzalez tweeted in response to Kimmel’s post, which was seen over 12 million times on Twitter's platform. "Do you know what averages are?"
This is a cited statistic from the APA, tubby. Do you know what averages are?
— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) June 28, 2023
"Kimmel always batting zero," actress Collete Harrington tweeted.
Kimmel always batting zero.
— Colette Harrington (@sweetcarolinatv) June 28, 2023
"You don’t know what average means," attorney Jenin Younes tweeted.
Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 2017 Oscars. (Eddy Chen/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
You don’t know what average means.
— Jenin Younes (former handle @leftylockdowns1) (@JeninYounesEsq) June 28, 2023
If you’re going to bag on someone because you don’t like his politics, it would help if you knew what you were talking about.
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 28, 2023
Average, dude. Good grief.
— Matthew Marsden (@matthewdmarsden) June 28, 2023
This is the type of intellectual dishonesty @jimmykimmel is good for. Yes, @RobertKennedyJr may have improperly stated the statistic.
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) June 28, 2023
42% of Americans reported undesired, weight gain, with the average amount of weight gained being 29 pounds.
That is the problem, Jimmy. Not… https://t.co/VGCnbzee57 pic.twitter.com/4w0c33Vhuu
Wild how Hollywood celebs run interference for Big Pharma. https://t.co/Qtv2nAzgVQ
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 28, 2023
Ladies and gentlemen... The devastating results of the Writer's Guild strike. 👇 https://t.co/YlEK1FqB6t
— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) June 28, 2023
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. visits "The Faulkner Focus" at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City on June 2, 2023. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Representatives for Kimmel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Andrew Mark Miller is a writer at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to
