Jimmy Kimmel slammed for shocking joke comparing Eli, Peyton Manning to Menendez brothers

New York Post

14-05-2025

Jimmy Kimmel has found himself in hot water.
During a stand-up routine at Tuesday's 2025 Disney Upfront event, the 57-year-old comedian came under fire for comparing football legends Eli and Peyton Manning to the incarcerated Menendez brothers.
Kimmel's poorly received joke came after Eli, 44, and Peyton, 49, performed a song-and-dance number in which they pitched their way into several shows under the Disney banner.
10 Jimmy Kimmel found himself in hot water after comparing Eli and Peyton Manning to the Menendez brothers during a Disney event on Tuesday.
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10 Peyton and Eli Manning at the 2025 Disney Upfront event at in New York City on Tuesday, May 13.
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'I do wanna thank the Manning brothers for finally answering the question: What if two jars of mayonnaise could sing?' Kimmel quipped, per Entertainment Weekly. 'The answer is: They can't, and they shouldn't.'
'That was worse than what the Menendez brothers did,' he added.
But Kimmel's bit did not end there, because the late-night host included another punchline after the audience loudly groaned at his initial joke.
10 Lyle and Erik Menendez remain behind bars for killing their parents in 1989.
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10 'That was worse than what the Menendez brothers did,' Kimmel joked on Tuesday.
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'Too soon or too late?' Kimmel asked.
Lyle Menendez, 57, and his younger brother Erik Menendez, 54, were found guilty in 1996 of brutally killing their parents seven years earlier.
On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge changed their sentences from life in prison without parole to life in prison with the possibility of parole, potentially paving the brothers' way to freedom after more than three decades behind bars.
10 Kimmel's poorly received joke came the same day that a Los Angeles judge changed Erik and Lyle Menendez's sentences to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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10 Kimmel's joke about the Menendez brothers came after Peyton and Eli performed a song-and-dance number for the Disney Upfront audience.
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Meanwhile, Kimmel later took one more shot at the former NFL stars at the end of his 12-minute stand-up set in New York City this week.
'Ladies and gentlemen, here with another song, the Manning brothers,' he said via EW, even though Eli and Peyton did not return to the stage for another performance.
Some critics also took to social media to slam the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' host.
10 Kimmel later poked fun at Disney CEO Bob Iger.
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'Kimmel is an ass!' one annoyed person tweeted.
Others, however, agreed with Kimmel's critique of Eli and Peyton's song-and-dance act.
'Kimmel ain't wrong,' someone wrote on X after the Disney event, 'the Manning Bros need to hang up their dancing shoes.'
10 Peyton Manning and Jimmy Kimmel during an episode of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'
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Elsewhere during his more than 10-minute schtick, Kimmel poked fun at Disney CEO Bob Iger.
'This is my, I think, millionth upfront? I do it once a year like a prostate exam,' he joked. 'But it's hard to say no when Bob Iger shows up. Bob Iger has passionately led Disney for 20 years and reluctantly for three.'
He also teased that Iger, 74, doesn't care about Disney's annual Upfront presentation, its audience, or the company's many advertisers.
10 The Manning brothers calling in to 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'
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'This is Bob's second upfront appearance in a row. You think he needs to be here? He doesn't need to be here,' Kimmel said. 'You think Bob gives a s–t about 'The Rookie' Season 8?'
'Bob doesn't care if this whole room turns into 'Avengers: Endgame' dust, okay?' Kimmel added. 'But he showed up.'
10 The former NFL stars also promoted their upcoming Hulu show, 'Chad Powers,' with Glen Powell during the Disney event in NYC on May 13.
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As for the Mannings, they later returned to the stage to promote their upcoming Hulu comedy 'Chad Powers' with Glen Powell.
The show, which stars Powell and was inspired by Eli Manning's popular ESPN+ segment, will follow the 'Twisters' star as a disgraced football star who dons a disguise to play for another team.
Eli and Peyton serve as executive producers on the upcoming series.