Robert De Niro made a surprise appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Wednesday, portraying a fictional FCC Chairman threatening host Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel had been discussing a previous instance where ABC faced FCC scrutiny over a joke he made about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. During the monologue, De Niro, channeling an intimidating persona reminiscent of his role as Al Capone in "The Untouchables," entered the stage with a baseball bat.
“You’re being threatened by the FCC?” De Niro, as the chairman, asked Kimmel. “Who is threatening you? Am I threatening you? Do you feel threatened by me?”
De Niro presented Kimmel with a list of 192 insults the host had made about President Donald Trump. He instructed Kimmel that for every insult, he must also offer a compliment about the president, citing a nonsensical example involving Trump's "naked lady birthday poem."
Kimmel questioned whether this was an abuse of federal power to control his speech. De Niro responded, "Finally! You got it. Dumb fuck is finally starting to get it!"
The skit concluded with De Niro exiting the stage after shouting, "Fuck the Red Sox!"
This segment referenced an incident approximately one year prior when FCC Chair Brendan Carr reportedly threatened ABC over a joke Kimmel made. Kimmel stated on his show that such threats from the FCC have persisted.