Somebody had to stand up for what’s right, and Fred Willard was just the guy to do it. With the ongoing controversy over the team name of the Washington Redskins, and in light of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelling the Redskins trademark because it’s disparaging to Native Americans, Jimmy Kimmel came up with a potential solution on Thursday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
He simply drew in an “F” and made the team the Fredskins. He figured nobody could be offended by that name, but he spoke too soon, as Fred Willard almost immediately stormed out.
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Willard explained that he was there on behalf of all the Freds who couldn’t make it due to prior engagements, and that they were outraged. This new name was offensive and insensitive to the Fred experience. Willard went so far as to threaten a lawsuit.
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He did get temporarily distracted by the thought of Tootsie Rolls in the green room, but he ultimately stayed on task, taking Kimmel to task for his “disparaging” name choice, and even stealing the offensive sign when he left.