WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Robert De Niro surprised Jimmy Kimmel Live! while carrying a baseball bat and impersonating FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
- The sketch mocked the dispute involving Kimmel, broadcast regulation, political pressure and free speech.
- De Niro’s character confronted Kimmel with 192 jokes about Trump’s appearance and more than 3,000 jokes about Eric Trump.
- The satire followed more than a year of controversy involving Kimmel and the FCC.
Robert De Niro brought his formidable gangster persona to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, crashing the program with a baseball bat and an impersonation of Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr. The surprise appearance transformed an ongoing regulatory dispute into an audacious mob inspired satire.
The Oscar winning actor, 83, joined Jimmy Kimmel during the host’s latest “Brooklyn Week.” De Niro first played the menacing version of Brendan when the ABC program returned from a brief suspension in September 2025.
Kimmel, 58, has continued clashing publicly with the FCC chairman amid a larger dispute involving political pressure, broadcast regulation and free speech. Before De Niro appeared, the host reminded the audience what happened during the show’s previous visit to Brooklyn.
“I don’t know if you know this, but the last time we were here in Brooklyn, we were just getting back on the air after we had that unexpected FCC vacation week,” Kimmel said.
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The host added that the conflict had not improved during the intervening year. “And while I would like to say that things have improved over the last year, they haven’t really. We are still being threatened by the FCC.”
De Niro then walked onto the stage in a navy suit while carrying a baseball bat. His threatening entrance drew directly from the organized crime characters that have defined many of his best known performances.
After Kimmel complained about the threats, De Niro’s version of Brendan repeatedly poked him with the bat. The character demanded, “Do you feel threatened by me?”
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The fictional chairman claimed that he was carrying out a “routine inspection” to determine whether the program was following the terms of its broadcast licence. He then produced a list detailing Kimmel’s insults about President Donald Trump, 80.
“Okay, let’s see. It says, ‘We have 192 instances of you poking fun at the president’s appearance’,” De Niro said while reading from the list.
He then confronted Kimmel with one specific insult. “Did you say the president looks like a Macy’s parade balloon filled with cottage cheese?”
The list also contained several nicknames Kimmel has used for Trump. Those included “Mar-a-Lardo”, “Benito Gasolini” and “Captain Cankleroo”.
When Kimmel tried to question the interrogation, De Niro’s character struck him across the face and delivered another intimidating warning. “Did I tell you it was your turn to talk, Numbn***? You speak when I tell you to speak … otherwise you shut the f*** up.”
The routine leaned on De Niro’s extensive history of portraying gangsters and violent characters. His roles include the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, Al Capone in The Untouchables, Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas and Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino.
Other defining performances include Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. De Niro won his second Academy Award for his performance as LaMotta.
More recently, the actor portrayed rival Mafia bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese in The Alto Knights. He also appeared in the Netflix thriller The Whisper Man.
De Niro is due to reprise his Meet the Parents role as intimidating former CIA operative Jack Byrnes in Focker-in-Law. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are also appearing in the film.
The sketch eventually shifted to Kimmel’s jokes about Trump’s son Eric Trump. De Niro’s character declared, “This year you’ve also made over 3,000 jokes about the president’s beautiful son, Eric.”
The fictional chairman then defended Eric before delivering another insult of his own. “Do you know how hard it is to go through life looking like Beavis f***** Butt-Head?”
Kimmel promised to “go easier on Eric,” but De Niro’s Brendan also demanded that the host observe what the character called an equal time rule. “Every time you insult the president, you got to follow it with something nice.”
The exchange ended with Kimmel directly challenging the character’s tactics. “It just seems to me like you’re trying to control what I do and do not say by abusing the power of the federal government.”
The satire followed more than a year of controversy surrounding Kimmel and the FCC. The real Brendan earlier denied that an FCC review involving licences for stations owned by ABC was connected to Kimmel, saying it concerned the agency’s investigation of Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
In September, the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation intended to stop federal officials from coercing private companies into suppressing constitutionally protected speech. The controversy involving ABC and Kimmel was among the examples raised during that debate.
De Niro has also been a prominent public critic of Trump. The president, in turn, has repeatedly attacked the actor.
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