Jimmel Kimmel is known as a master of viral videos from his late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live – from parents pretending they ate their kid’s Halloween candy, to the Handsome Men’s Club. But his Mean Tweets segments, in which celebrities read the worst vitriol and most clever digs from Twitter, are perhaps one of the funniest. This week, the funny man ran “live reads” with serious A-list celebrities each night, deeming it Mean Tweets Week.
As the name implies, the Mean Tweets segment showcases celebrities, smartphone in hand, reading aloud real Tweets that random Twitter users have published about them. And naturally, each of them is mean in nature. Like, really mean.
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Just as funny as the actual Tweets, however, is the reaction on the celebrity’s face as he or she reads it, as well as their response. It often includes an insult right back, jovial acceptance of the criticism, or sometimes even genuine laughter as they presumably see the text of the Tweet for the very first time on camera. Past Mean Tweets have ranged from a Twitter user comparing Gwyneth Paltrow’s looks to Big Bird, to speculation that Gerrard Butler must have massive student loans as being the only possible reason for him doing such awful films.
But this week’s live reads, which saw a stream of celebrities come out from behind a curtain on stage to read the Tweets in front of a live audience, added a whole new dimension. We learned that one Twitter user feels that Salma Hayek’s movies aren’t that great, simply because of her “annoying voice” and the fact that her buxom bosom isn’t shown enough. We also learned that Andrew Garfield has a great sense of humor, bursting out laughing when he read about one Twitter user who likened his new look to a “pedophile living out of an RV.” The best responses, however, come from Halle Berry, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. See them above.
It’s particularly funny when you think about how comfortable people are Tweeting just about anything behind the shield of a computer machine. Surely, Benedict Cumberbatch will never read my silly Tweet about how he resembles a cat’s butthole. Which is what makes this segment that much more attractive: not only is the text of the Tweet displayed across the screen for all to read along with, but so is the author’s Twitter handle. Busted!
This 5-minute video showcases all of the week’s appearances thus far, which include a number of A-listers, like Jeff Bridges, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bette Middler, Liam Neeson, Halle Berry, George Clooney, Tobey Maguire, and more. We can’t wait to see who’s featured in tonight’s episode.
