Jimmy Kimmel to air primetime specials
The late night comedian will be appearing during your primetime schedule. Starting tomorrow, Jimmy Kimmel LIve will run special half-hour shows each night that ABC airs the basketball finals. Special guests include: David Beckham, Edward Norton, Charles Barkley, Liv Tyler, Adam Sandler, Eminem, Shaquille O’Neil, Magic Johnson and New Orleans Hornets guard and 2008 MVP contender Chris Paul, among others.
Out of the celebrities mentioned, I’m most interested to see Eminem. I haven’t seen the Real Slim Shady on TV in awhile. He’s always a good interview though — all that contrived hostility and testosterone in overdrive. Who are you looking forward to seeing? Or is Kimmel’s fabulousness enough to get you to tune in?
The schedule is after the jump.
Primetime Jimmy Kimmel Live specials:
Thursday, June 5 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT
Sunday, June 8 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT
Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT
Thursday, June 12 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT
Sunday, June 15 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT (If necessary)
Tuesday, June 17 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT (If necessary)
Thursday, June 19 at 8:00 p.m., ET/CT (If necessary)
According to the press release, the shows will also include some of Kimmel’s signature comedy pieces: “a celebrity bowling match, a spelling bee, outrageous basketball tricks and a casino night in which Jimmy’s Aunt Chippy will attempt to win big at Blackjack for each and every audience member.”
Star Jones Affair Rumors Goes Down the Dwayne
Star Jones and Dwayne Wade are not playing ball, and no one is trying to drive that point home harder than the married Miami Heat star.
King of tact Charles Barkley, along with the always subtle team from TNT's Inside the NBA, put the full-court press on Wade when he appeared on the show Thursday, pressing him on the nature of his "great relationship" and "good friends" closenessas evidenced in some recent paparazzi snapswith Jones.
(A Jones rep echoed the sentiment today, telling News: "They are just good friends.")
While the newly single Jones may not, as Barkley suggests, be a cougar "preying on a young Dwayne Wade," her hunting season may not be far off. Shudder.
Watercooler Talk: What should you do following an on-air boner?
Yesterday’s “news” that Jay Leno would apologize for his insensitive (and, quite frankly, bizarre) remarks to Ryan Phillipe got me thinking: is apologizing the best tactic to take when you’ve said something stupid on air?
There certainly seems to be a double standard: guys like Charles Barkley or Donald Trump can seemingly say whatever they please, while “nice guys” like Jay Leno are constantly being taken to task for (relatively) benign transgressions. I’ve always wondered why that was the case, but didn’t occur to me until today what the difference was — Barkley and Trump never apologize for their insensitivity. In fact, they glory in it.
When Imus made his nappy-headed blunder, Howard Stern’s on-air counsel was to not apologize. He said that an apology was an admission of guilt; that Imus should simply say four hours of radio a day is a long time to fill and sometimes a joke misfires.
Instead, Imus went in the other direction, apologizing on every single black-hosted television show in the known universe. I half-expected him to show up on College Hill to lead the housemates in an apology prayer circle. He apologized so much you actually began to believe that the phrase “nappy-headed ho” was the worst thing a human being could possibly call another human being.
The result? He was fired.
Now, I’m not going to argue whether the phrase is innocuous or not (that’s been done to death). I would like to consider, however, whether or not Howard’s advice to his old nemesis is worthwhile. Does an apology make things worse, even if the people are demanding one? Is it better just to shrug and say, “Well those are the eggs we break when we’re trying to make a comedy omelet?”
We live in an age where every single blooper, blunder, and boner is instantly transmitted to every person on the planet. The result of this has been instant, expected apologies. I put “news” in quotes earlier because we all knew the second the clip of Leno asking Phillippe to make his “gay face” hit the interwebs that Leno would be making a “I’m sorry if anyone took offense to my blah blah blah” statement.
And, even though I knew it was coming, and even though I’d probably do the same thing if I were Leno, I was still annoyed to see the apology.
Could it be that the public respects a self-assured jerk more than a people-pleasing ninny?
I put the question to you, our handsome and esteemed readers (see, I am a people-pleasing ninny). I ask that you don’t debate what Leno actually said — the original post is hosting a lively and entertaining discussion on that subject — but rather the efficacy of the apology. Is a celebrity better off just ignoring the angry letters following an ill-advised joke or is an apology the best course of action?
(By the way, I know that the pun-based title of this article is misleading and, possibly, a bit offensive. I’m not going to apologize for it, though, because I have integrity! That is, of course, unless the consensus is that apologizing is the best way to handle an offensive remark. In that case, I’ll be going on Oprah to apologize for my use of the word “boner” and announce that I’ll be going into rehab.)
T-Mobile: “Chuck and Dwayne”
This was a really funny commercial, especially because it was so well-performed by basketball players Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley. Charles Barkley (Chuck) puts Dwayne into his “Top Five” on T-Mobile, so he can call him anytime. At first, Dwayne is delighted and tells Barkley to go ahead and call him. Flatter soon turns to frustration as Barkley calls to talk game tips, the definition of HD (High Definition), and because he is bored. Wade resorts to ducking “Chuck’s” calls and hiding to get away from him.
Maybe you have to see it. It’s right under the jump.