Jimmy Kimmel extended an olive branch to Sean Hannity Sunday, apologizing for a multi-day Twitter feud.
“While I admit I did have fun with our back and forth, after some thought, I realize that the level of vitriol from all sides (mine and me included) does nothing good for anyone and, in fact, is harmful to our country,” Kimmel wrote in a tweet.
The late-night host went on to say that he would give his words more thought in the future and “recognize my role in inciting their hatefulness.” He apologized for joking that Hannity and Trump have a sexual relationship, and for making fun of first lady Melania Trump’s accent.
“By lampooning Sean Hannity’s deference to the president, I most certainly did not intend to belittle or upset members of the gay community and to those who took offense, I apologize. I will take Sean Hannity at his word that he was genuinely offended by what I believed and still believe to be a harmless and silly aside referencing our First Lady’s accent. Mrs. Trump almost certainly has enough to worry about without being used as a prop to increase TV ratings,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel’s apology in its entirety is below.
re. @seanhannity pic.twitter.com/DMtWJTMsDU
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) April 8, 2018
Hannity responded: “Just had this pop up. I am at a tournament with my daughter. I’ll have a full and comprehensive response tomorrow on Hannity. 9 EST FOX.”
The insult-storm began Wednesday night when Hannity went after Kimmel for making fun of Melania Trump’s pronunciation of “this and that” at the White House’s Easter Egg Roll.
Over the days that followed, Kimmel and Hannity exchanged nasty tweets, with Hannity commenting on a skit from Kimmel’s tenure on “The Man Show” when the comedian asked women to touch his crotch. Hannity called him “Harvey Weinstein Jr.” On Friday, Kimmel tweeted jokes about Hannity having sex with Trump.
On his show Friday night, the Fox New host ripped the comedian during a more than 20-minute opening monologue. The network chopped that entire segment from its web broadcast. On Saturday, Hannity called Kimmel a “pervert,” “pig” and “racist bigot” on Twitter, referring to old “Man Show” segments.