A spokesperson for Giuliani told “The New York Times” that the former NYC mayor is in “critical but stable condition.”

Jimmy Kimmel’s joke about Rudy Giuliani rising from grave resurfaces after politician’s hospitalization

A spokesperson for Giuliani told "The New York Times" that the former NYC mayor is in "critical but stable condition."

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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May 4, 2026 10:40 a.m. ET

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Jimmy Kimmel in 2025; Rudy Giuliani in 2025. Credit:

Earl Gibson III/Deadline via Getty; Siavosh Hosseini/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

- Jimmy Kimmel is receiving backlash online after a recent joke about Rudy Giuliani resurfaced following news of the politician's hospitalization.

- Kimmel joked last week that Giuliani "rose from the grave" to react to the latest developments in the feud between Kimmel and the Trumps.

- Conservatives have called out the joke on social media, with one suggesting Kimmel be "banned" from television.

Jimmy Kimmel is facing backlash once again after a recent joke about Rudy Giuliani resurfaced following news of the politician’s hospitalization.

The comedian poked fun at Giuliani during his* Jimmy Kimmel Live* monologue last Tuesday, teasing at the time that the former NYC mayor “rose from the grave” to react to the latest developments in the ongoing Trump-Kimmel feud.

A spokesperson for Giuliani told *The New York Times* on Sunday that the disbarred lawyer was in a Florida hospital in “critical but stable condition.”

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty

“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,” they told the outlet, before asking for prayers for the politician.

Kimmel’s punchline has since sparked outrage among conservatives in the wake of Giuliani’s medical emergency.

“After making Trump assassination jokes, Jimmy Kimmel joked about Rudy Giuliani last week, saying he ‘rose from the grave,’” right-wing commentator Benny Johnson wrote on X. “It was just announced tonight that Rudy was hospitalized and is in critical condition. Why is Kimmel always joking about death?”

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Another user responded to Johnson’s post calling for Kimmel to be “banned” from television for the joke.

Others took to the replies to defend Kimmel and his days-early joke, with one writing, “We must stop people from making jokes about our beloved leaders... (looks at notes) before they take ill and anyone knows they are in critical condition.”

And a second asked, “Why are you trying to blame Kimmel for Rudy going into the hospital last night for a joke he told a week ago?”

Kimmel brought up Giuliani in his Tuesday monologue after the ex-mayor dragged him for a joke about Melania Trump having the glow of an “expectant widow” days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.

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He showed a clip from Giuliani’s *America’s Mayor Live *broadcast in which the politician called Kimmel “maybe one of the most distasteful human beings in this country” and, later, “an incompetent jacka--.”

In response, Kimmel said, “I have to say, it’s confusing to be called an incompetent jacka-- by a man who accidentally held a press conference outside a dildo store, who doesn’t seem to have any understanding of when videos are running and when they aren’t, and has a gallon of squid ink dribbling off the top of his head.”

He added, “Does this man have any family members who can come get him already?”

Giuliani isn’t the only person who has condemned Kimmel for the "widow" joke. Both Donald and Melania Trump have called for Kimmel to be fired for the quip following the shooting.

"When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!!" Trump wrote.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Late”