Jimmy Kimmel turns over monologue to his wife for midterms abortion rights plea

On the eve of the midterm elections, Jimmy Kimmel turned over his monologue to his wife for a serious plea to vote for pro-choice candidates.

The comedian's monologue during Monday's Jimmy Kimmel Live! was "interrupted" by his wife, Molly McNearney, who also serves as the show's co-head writer and executive producer. She stood on stage next to a flashing alarm, telling viewers she's "sounding the alarm" because "tomorrow is Election Day," and "abortion rights are gone or in danger in 26 states."

McNearney went on to deliver a roughly two minute monologue in support of abortion rights ahead of the first midterm elections since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this year.

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"Being a mom is the best and the hardest job on the planet," McNearney, who shares two children with Kimmel, said. "I can't imagine forcing any woman who doesn't want that job to take it against her will."

In between relaying statistics about abortion, McNearney at one point paused to warn the audience that there would be no jokes in her message. "I'm sorry, are you expecting this to be funny?" she asked. "Because it is not going to be funny." She concluded by urging viewers to "trust women enough to make their own difficult decisions and to vote for the people who will make that happen" in the midterms. "Our daughters should not have to fight the battles that our grandmothers won," she added.

Elsewhere in the monologue, Kimmel bashed Republican candidates like "total phony" Dr. Mehmet Oz and "Mr. Potato Head" Herschel Walker, and he joked, "Every Democrat I know right now has that feeling you get the night before a colonoscopy. Anything can happen."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.