«"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was among 34 winners selected by the Peabody Award jury for this year's awards, and Kimmel joked that he'd "never felt dumber" accepting the award alongside documentaries and news programs that "exposed the horrors of meth use, prison violence, and a teacher who stood up to Putin.".
However, the audience at Sunday night's ceremony applauded the talk show host, who reminded the crowd in his acceptance speech that "making fun of the president—in America—shouldn't win you a prize. We have a right, guaranteed by the Constitution, to criticize and ridicule our leaders. It's a right I took for granted for the first 57 years of my life, until the Federal Communications Commission gave me an unpleasant surprise last September.".
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Kimmel was honored for "embracing comedy's responsibility to uncover truth in the face of political turmoil," particularly after ABC briefly suspended him last fall due to threats from the Federal Communications Commission.
When this happened, Kimmel said in his acceptance speech, "I experienced something even more astonishing. I saw with my own eyes how millions of people, even some from the opposite party, protested. They spoke out, they marched, they canceled their Star Wars subscriptions because they refused to allow our freedoms to be torn down like what happened to the East Wing of the White House.".
«"They made it clear that we care," he added. "And that we will stand our ground. And that we will not stand idly by while comedy, journalism, and dissent are censored, regulated, and criminalized.".
Kimmel, of course, shared a few of his witticisms that got under Trump's skin: "I called our president 'Fat Man.' And 'Blob Builder.' And 'Liar Woods.' And 'Hungry-Hungry Hypocrite.' 'Our Affectionate Father.' 'Mar-a-Lardo.' 'Nelson Tandela.' And 'Nostroma-Dumbass.' And somehow we got a Peabody Award for it," he joked. "This country has truly gone down the drain... We thank those who stood by us last September. Thank you to the Peabody Award judges for this charming little trophy, and thank you to Donald Trump, our Commander-in-Chief, "Abrascum Lincoln," "Orange Julius Caesar," "Greedy McGolfey," "Stupid McGropey," and "Pumpkin McPornhamper."«
Kimmel, sharing the stage with his partner Guillermo Rodriguez, accepted his award from Ben Affleck, who thanked the host for showing us "what it really means to speak truth to power. For years, he's used his show to challenge authority on a daily basis—and by authority, I think we all know, that's one in particular—the narcissistic egotist named Matt Damon!"«
Kimmel was far from the only winner to criticize the administration and other repressive institutions—this is the 86th Peabody Awards ceremony, after all, and this year's winners focused on serious and important topics, including the war in Gaza, the shocking state of prisons, the lack of any attempt at meaningful gun regulation in the US, our failing healthcare system, and more.
Entertainment programming won 11 Peabody Awards this year, including awards for "Pitt," "Adolescence," "Heavy Rivalry," and "Pluribus." Documentaries followed with ten awards (including two in the Arts category), five for news programming, four for interactive/immersive programming, and three for podcasts/radio. Children's/youth programming won one award this year. Comedian Mo Amer hosted the event, which took place Sunday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Amer highlighted some of the serious topics covered: «Tonight will feature everything from Gaza War Crimes Investigation to „Here Comes Elmo!“ Those don’t usually go together. „Tonight’s episode is represented by the letters I, D, and F!“ Seriously, tonight we’re paying homage to „No Other Land,“ „Purified by Fire,“ „Fault Lines: Children Under Fire,„ and “The Disappearance of Dr. Abu Safiyah,„ “Gaza War Crimes Investigation,„ and “Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk„—all of which tell stories of the systematic destruction of Palestine. The producers asked me to whisper that word because we don’t want anyone to get into trouble for simply being honest.“.
Joseph Patel, producer of "Sly Lives! (AKA the Burden of Black Genius)," accepted the award as director Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson was still in New York City, having performed on stage with Jay-Z the day before. Patel said he would be reading from his phone rather than a teleprompter, but this also allowed him to deviate from the script and offer a disclaimer: "We're grateful to be able to tell this story at all. The one thing that's become clear on this journey with this film is that in five years, we may not be able to tell this story or other stories about Black artists, frankly.".
«It sounds ridiculous, but right now, the stories, the past, even the bodies of Black people and people of color in this country are under attack,» he said. «Black people are literally being excluded from government representation. Immigrants are being kidnapped, protesting the deaths of Palestinian children leads to imprisonment or deportation. This isn’t a hypothetical future. It’s happening right now, and inaction means accepting it. As artists, we have a responsibility to tell these stories, and as people, we can still do something about it. We must fight this. Only then can we create the future we want to live in. Fuck Trump, fuck ICE, and free Palestine.».
Andor creator Tony Gilori, whose show has been praised for its prescient look at what happens when oppressive forces take over society, noted, "We spent six years thinking about a fascist takeover of a galaxy far, far away. We spent six years thinking about what happens to ordinary people when an authoritarian, insane, unchecked regime takes over, and the show essentially reflects what we learned.".
«"If you're not willing to fight for what you love—your family, your community, your culture, your planet, your truth, your freedom—there's always some bastard ready to come along and take it all away," he said. "We've learned that courage, sacrifice, and resistance come in different forms, and we've learned that courage is contagious.".
Gilroy paraphrased a character from "Andor" who observed that oppressors seek to commit so many atrocities simultaneously and flood the area that citizens are too overwhelmed to notice. This certainly sounds similar to what's happening in our country right now. "There's so much going on, it's like a fire hose full of shit you just can't get through," Gilroy said. "And here we are. There's not a single new cycle going on right now that doesn't contain a multitude of atrocities that, at any other time in our history in America, wouldn't be grounds for treason.".
He concluded by addressing the journalists, documentary filmmakers, and storytellers in the audience: "Please don't stop. Please don't turn off the lights until we end this nightmare... and to hell with the empire!"«
"The Alabama Decision" director Andrew Jarecki noted that his documentary resonated because very few journalists are denied access to American prisons, "even though we incarcerate more of our citizens than any democratic country, costing $160 billion a year." Fellow director Charlotte Kauffman added: "Right now, in Minneapolis, New York, and beyond, we see government violence and retaliation against those who document it. After making this film, we understand that this originated in our prison system. It's no wonder that after ICE agents killed Alex Pretty while he was filming on his phone, Kristi Noem said he was brandishing a gun—because for an authoritarian regime, a camera is a weapon.".
The presenters included Affleck, Anthony Anderson, Halle Bailey, Damon Lindelof, Alex Mikaelson, Yara Shahidi, and Michael Urie. All delivered unique, personal speeches. Bailey, tasked with introducing the winners, whose speeches centered on the theme of "fighting injustice," addressed the cyberbullying she suffered for her role in The Little Mermaid.
«"There were voices that questioned my place in a certain iconic world because I didn't look like what some had always imagined," she said. "Being told, in one way or another, that you didn't belong in a space that others had already decided wasn't meant for you was a burden I didn't have to bear myself. I thought about my heroes, women like Billie Holiday, Eartha Kitt, and Nina Simone—artists who faced criticism, prejudice, and immense pressure, yet still chose to create, perform, and be themselves. They reminded me that progress is never achieved by waiting for permission.".
PBS Kids was awarded an institutional Peabody Award, which was presented to PBS Kids Senior Vice President and General Manager Sarah DeWitt. "We've been defunded, but we're not broken," she said in her call to action.
Additionally, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening presented James L. Brooks with the Peabody Award for outstanding industry leader. Ethan Hawke introduced Peabody Innovation Award winner Sterling Harjo.
«"I'm a testament to what this administration is up against," Harjo said. "If the Sundance Institute didn't believe that the diversity of new voices deserves attention, I wouldn't be here today. Diversity isn't a handout; it's empowerment. Recognizing someone's background and identity can have an impact on people from other walks of life.".
«"I'd like to thank my ancestors who survived before me," he added. "The United States government attempted to commit genocide against my people. We come from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, and Andrew Jackson himself, the author of the Removal Act that deprived my people of our homeland. There was a war, we were herded at gunpoint, and that's how we ended up in Oklahoma. And let me tell you, they denied it, they denied it was genocide. Just like today, I feel like I was born into a rebellion and a struggle for survival.".
Turning to production issues, he also said, "We need to treat people with respect and try to give them time so they can get home to their families at a reasonable hour. No TV show or movie is worth being anything more than a happy person. You have the opportunity to change this industry. People pretend to know where it's going. I'd like to challenge all of us in this room to hire real people to do the work and treat those people with respect.".
The evening concluded with Amy Poehler (presented by Ike Barinholtz) receiving the Peabody Award for Lifetime Achievement.
«"It's a little weird to be reflecting on my career in the midst of it," she said. "It's like I imagine being stopped during a marathon and someone hands you a banana. I don't know, I could never run a marathon. But it's like goo. It's that special goo that Peabody Award winners give me to keep me going. Thank you for that goo.".
The full list of this year's Peabody Award winners can be found here. According to the Peabody Awards, the 34 winners were selected from a pool of over 1,000 nominees across all categories. The final winners were chosen by unanimous vote of the 28-member jury.
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