For the past few months, the entire North American continent has had a tremendous amount of fun with Rob Ford, though we all know his story could take a truly depressing turn any day now. Jimmy Kimmel toed that line on Monday night in an extensive interview with the Toronto mayor, confronting him with a laundry list of his offenses and having him watch and comment on many of his greatest video hits (but not the crack video). Kimmel even came up with new jabs, dabbing Ford’s sweaty face and showing a photo of the uneaten veggie plate in his dressing room. (Because Ford is fat. Get it?!)
After three segments of chuckling at Ford’s many, many embarrassing moments, Kimmel finally urged Ford to get treatment. “You seem like a very nice guy to me, and if you are an alcoholic – which, you know, if you’re drinking enough that you can try crack in your 40s and you don’t remember it – maybe that’s something that you might want to think about talking to somebody about,” said the host.
Ford, who remained bright red but jovial throughout the interview, threw back his head and laughed as soon as Kimmel said “alcoholic.” He gave his usual “Who among us hasn’t tried crack in a drunken stupor?” response, and tried to shift the conversation to his accomplishments as mayor. “I wasn’t elected to be perfect, Jimmy,” he said. “I was elected to clean up the mess that I inherited and that’s exactly what I’ve done.”
In a phone call to the Toronto Sun after the show, Doug Ford suggested his brother was “a little upset,” and the mayor said in the background that he was “set up.” However, he was upbeat when he got on the line. “No big deal. I was fine,” said Ford. “There was some tough questions but it was fun. I had a blast.” If life hasn’t wiped the smile off Ford’s face (and forced him to seriously consider getting help), a Kimmel grilling isn’t going to do it.
