By REESE AMOROSI
When it comes to the nightly talk show wars, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been winning 2017’s ratings battles. However, when it comes to making marks beyond comedy, it’s the titular host of Jimmy Kimmel Live who is on top. This Fall, Kimmel showed off his music smarts by interviewing The Killers in September’s Magnet Magazine. On the political front, Kimmel’s monologues against Graham-Cassidy, a bill by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy meant to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, is credited with helping sway state senators’ constituency to speak out. On September 27, Kimmel’s healthcare rants helped him snag a rare ratings win among adults 18-49. As for the Graham-Cassidy Bill? It’s toast.
In covering The Killers and discussing the new album, Wonderful Wonderful, fellow Sin City local Kimmel talks with The Killers Vegas-born lead singer, Brandon Flowers, about what Magnet editor-in-chief Eric Miller calls “growing up in the glitzy capital of American excess and experience.” Kimmel writes in the feature’s introduction, “Las Vegas is my hometown, and I always root for bands and others who share that unusual distinction, and in this case, I was a fan of their music before I knew where they were from…This interview was conducted by phone, and unbeknownst to those on the other end, I was naked throughout.”
When it comes to Kimmel’s teardown of the Graham-Cassidy bill – one meant to destroy ObamaCare and leave millions of Americans without health care – the comedian has been ruthlessly funny (“We haven’t seen this many groups come forward to come out against a bill since Cosby”), but deathly serious. Making no bones about the fact that he could afford the best healthcare that money can buy, Kimmel has recounted the tale of his son Billy who has had heart problems since birth, and had to be operated on this Spring. The child was saved, but an empathetic Kimmel understands that the GOP-led Senates attempt to unravel the Affordable Care Act would make such immediate care unattainable for anyone but the rich.
That’s power beyond laughs, and it will be interesting to see what Kimmel has to say now that his connection to the issue and Arizona Senator John McCain's vote of dissent helped crushed the bill.
Magnet Magazine cover photo ©Magnet Magazine
Posted on Wednesday, September 27, 2017
