Kimmel took his beef to Instagram after RFK Jr. shared a post mocking Stephen Colbert’s final “Late Show” broadcast.

Jimmy Kimmel rips into RFK Jr. after he says comedian ‘made himself a priest’: ‘Get back to spreading polio’

Kimmel took his beef to Instagram after RFK Jr. shared a post mocking Stephen Colbert's final "Late Show" broadcast.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

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May 26, 2026 11:39 a.m. ET

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Jimmy Kimmel; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Credit:

Michael Loccisano/Getty; SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty

- Jimmy Kimmel called out Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for sharing a satirical essay on social media mocking Stephen Colbert's final *Late Show* broadcast.

- RFK Jr. had taken a shot at the comedian, saying Kimmel "was hired as a comedian but he made himself a priest."

- Kimmel mocked RFK Jr.'s spelling and recommended the Health and Human Services secretary "get back to spreading polio."

Jimmy Kimmel is advising Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to check his spelling before he comes for Kimmel's comedic chops and late-night peers.

The *Jimmy Kimmel Live* host called out the Health and Human Services secretary after the latter endorsed a satirical essay posted on social media on May 23. The post imagined how execs of the Paramount-owned CBS feel about the fate of late-night after Stephen Colbert's final *Late Show* broadcast on Thursday. Writing as the "Senior Vice President of Late Night Strategy at CBS," the self-described "cyber populist" and "hacker" Peter Girnus claimed to have "killed" Colbert's *Daily Show* persona and "turned a jester into a priest."

"Superb dissection of the shocking collapse of liberal comedy," RFK Jr. wrote on X in a quoted post sharing Girnus' essay.

"This is the best explanation of how we've reached the nader [sic] where Late Night host Jimmy Kimmel can say 'It's not my job to be funny.' As this author shows, he was hired as a comedian but he made himself a priest," RFK Jr. wrote.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the White House in 2025.

Andrew Harnik/Getty

Kimmel hit back at RFK Jr. on Instagram on May 24, sharing a screenshot of the tweet and writing over it, "It's 'nadir' dummy. Now get back to spreading polio."

Despite RFK Jr.'s assertion, Kimmel never said the "it's not my job to be funny" line. The phrase appears to have originated from an article on the satirical news website *Babylon Bee* last month, according to *Huff Post*.

Rather, Kimmel recently opened up about how he "loves" being funny, and would be feel embarrassed and ashamed if he didn't also talk about the things going on in the world.

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"I love telling jokes, I love being funny, I love when the audience laughs. There's nothing that's more exciting to me than that," Kimmel told former first lady Michelle Obama during an appearance on her podcast in April. "I've always said, since the very beginning, even when I was on the radio, [my job] is to talk about what is going on in people's lives."

And for critics who say it's not his job to talk about politics, Kimmel declared, "Don't tell me what my job is. I don't tell you what your job is. My job is whatever I decide my job is, or whatever my employer allows me to do. That's what my job is."

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As for Colbert, the former late-night host said goodbye to *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert *on Thursday after an impressive 11-year run. His final week featured special guests ranging from Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg to fellow late-night hosts Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and Kimmel.

During his final broadcast, the comedian did not once mention President Donald Trump, who many believe used his influence over CBS to get Colbert's show canceled.

While there were numerous celebrities in the audience who made "forced" cameos and wanted to be his last guest — including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows — Colbert's last sit-down interview was with music icon Paul McCartney. The former Beatle returned to where it all began, the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the group famously made its American debut in 1964.

*The Late Show*'s spot on the TV schedule is being filled by *Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen*.

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