Emmys 2024: Social media slams Jimmy Kimmel for “distasteful” jokes during Bob Newhart memorial segment

16 September, 2024

Social media isn’t taking kindly to Jimmy Kimmel’s tribute to late comedian and actor Bob Newhart at the 2024 Emmy Awards – see what he said and social media’s reaction below.

During the Emmy Awards earlier today, Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to the late Bob Newhart, who died in July at the age of 94. Kimmel’s tribute came immediately after a touching ‘In Memoriam’ segment that included a performance from Jelly Roll.

During the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, the Emmys honoured late actors, comedians, producers and other contributors to the TV industry, including James Earl Jones, Shannen Doherty, Chance Perdomo, Donald Sutherland and more.

Newhart was the final actor to be honoured during the segment, followed by Kimmel walking onstage to talk about the beloved comedian. However, Kimmel’s tribute was deemed to be in poor taste by netizens after several jokes fell flat following Jelly Roll’s touching performance.

“And the Emmy for deceased industry professional we will miss most goes to…” Kimmel started, before adding: “This is the time in the show when we remember the people who’ve we’ve lost over the last year, one I was very lucky to know, and that was Bob Newhart.”

“Those of you who knew Bob, who knew him personally, know he was exactly who you thought he would be. He did not have range. He didn’t need to have range. Bob had what very few comedians have, especially today: A degree in accounting.”

Then, Kimmel turned his attention to Jon Stewart, who won an award earlier in the night: “He had his first Emmy nomination in 1962 and didn’t win one until 2013, 51 years later, which is a great lesson and that lesson is Jon Stewart, you should be ashamed of yourself. You said you were retiring.”

Following the segment, viewers took to X/Twitter to share their thoughts on Kimmel’s tribute.

Elsewhere at the Emmys, Shōgun and The Bear broke the records for the most wins in their respective fields. The Bear shattered the record for most wins in the Comedy series category, while Shōgun dominated the Drama series category – see the full list of this year’s winners here.

The Bear would win a total of 11 awards including Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jeremy Allen White), Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Liza Colón-Zayas) and Best Directing for a Comedy Series. With Colón-Zayas’ win, she also became the first-ever Latina to win in the category. With its 11 wins at the 2024 Emmys, The Bear is now the most-awarded comedy series in a single year at the awards, breaking its previous record of 10 wins.

Shōgun, however, walked away as the night’s biggest winner, taking home a total of 18 awards, including Best Drama Series, Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Best Directing for a Drama Series. With its 18 wins, Shōgun is now the most-awarded series in a single year in Emmys history, as well as the winningest drama series at the Emmys.

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