Kimmel, Josh Johnson Take Patel Wildly Out Of Context on FBI Hiring Reforms

Alex Christy
September 17th, 2026 12:01 PM

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The cast of ABC’s The View were not the only ones to take FBI Director Kash Patel’s Wednesday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee wildly out of context. Their colleague Jimmy Kimmel and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show host Josh Johnson also spun a web of deceit to suggest that Patel has no objection to the FBI hiring people who are into bestiality.

Introducing a clip of the hearing, Kimmel proclaimed, “Yesterday, Kash Patel, who is inexplicably still running the FBI, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was questioned by Republican Senator John Kennedy, who asked him why he felt the need to remove this offense against the law and nature from a list of crimes that automatically disqualify candidates from joining the FBI.”

 

 

In part of the clip, it is perhaps possible to argue that Patel could have chosen his words better, but it was still pretty clear what he was talking about when he defended some recent FBI hiring reforms, “It automatically disqualified any individual who participated on either side of it. Obviously, we were never going to hire the criminal—”

The other side of “the criminal” would be the victim, which is what Patel was trying to say when Kennedy interjected, “Either side of what? The bestiality? So you disqualified the animal?”

Kimmel, however, returned to introduce a second Kennedy-Patel exchange, “Yes, senator. We guess, Koala bears can no longer hold positions in the FBI. I know they're adorable, but we had to put a stop to it.”

Again, Patel was shown trying to differentiate between degenerates and victims who are forced to perform horrific sex crimes, “If he voluntarily did it, sure. But if he was trafficked into it—”

Kenendy again interrupted to wonder, “How do you involuntarily do it?”

Kimmel cut the video right there to retort, “I don't know, get down on all fours and I'll show you how.”

However, if Kimmel let the video play, Patel would have been seen adding, “In a lot of these cases, when human traffickers, who are some of the worst individuals on planet Earth, they don't just traffic you for prostitution, they traffic you for degrading acts of all kind, and they force you into that type of conduct. And some of these individuals would go on to be law enforcement officers who qualified to be law enforcement officers and later applied to the FBI.”

Patel also claimed that when advisors came to him suggesting the change, he had a similar reaction as Kennedy before being convinced victims should not be held to the same standard as criminals: "[They] showed me cases in which people were forced into it and had applied to the FBI. And so I thought they should be considered.”

Over on Comedy Central, before he gushed over Colin Kaepernick, Johnson echoed Kimmel. After playing the “disqualified the animal” exchange, Johnson retorted, “I'm sorry, was this a big problem from the animal side? Like, are there bomb-sniffing dogs out there who are like, ‘Shit, the Chinese know I hooked up with Kyle.’ I am so confused! In his fake scenario, the animal participant in the bestiality is the one to blame?”

 

 

Later, Johnson introduced another clip, “And by the way, I'm not the only one wondering why Kash Patel made bestiality an issue in the FBI at all. Senator Kennedy and I had the same questions.”

He then played a clip of Kennedy asking Patel, "Why would you even get into bestiality?” with Patel insisting that “We are not into bestiality.”

Johnson reacted, “Okay, now I definitely think Kash is into bestiality. Why do I get the feeling there's a video of Kash Patel partying in the locker room of the Westminster Dog Show? He’s just in there like, ‘Yeah, labradoodle. Let's go!’" 

Conservative FBI directors and liberal comedy show hosts may not agree on a whole lot these days, but is it too much to ask that they put Patel’s full remarks in context and agree that the victims of sex crimes should not be punished for the actions of their oppressor?

Here is a transcript for the September 16 show:

ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!

9/16/2026

11:44 PM ET

JIMMY KIMMEL: Yesterday, Kash Patel, who is inexplicably still running the FBI, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was questioned by Republican Senator John Kennedy, who asked him why he felt the need to remove this offense against the law and nature from a list of crimes that automatically disqualify candidates from joining the FBI.

JOHN KENNEDY: What about the bestiality?

KASH PATEL: Same thing. Because the regs wrote it up in a fashion that I arrived that addressed prostitution, bestiality, and trafficking. They were there before I got there.

KENNEDY: Tell me what it said before.

PATEL: It automatically disqualified any individual who participated on either side of it. Obviously, we were never going to hire the criminal—

KENNEDY: Either side of what? The bestiality?

PATEL: Yes.

KENNEDY: So you disqualified the animal?

KIMMEL: Yes, senator. We guess, Koala bears can no longer hold positions in the FBI. I know they're adorable, but we had to put a stop to it.

KENNEDY: Why do you even get into bestiality?

PATEL: We are not into bestiality, but a lot of these individuals—

KENNEDY: I know you're not, but you changed—

PATEL: I'm trying to explain it. Hang on.

KENNEDY: You changed the qualifications and mentioned bestiality. If Joe—if Joe participated in bestiality, not as the animal but as the human—don't you think he ought to be qualified — disqualified?

PATEL: If he voluntarily did it, sure. But if he was trafficked into it—

KENNEDY: How do you involuntarily do it?

KIMMEL: I don't know, get down on all fours and I'll show you how.

***

Comedy Central The Daily Show

9/16/2026

11:09 PM ET

JOSH JOHNSON: I'm sorry, was this a big problem from the animal side? Like, are there bomb-sniffing dogs out there who are like, "Shit, the Chinese know I hooked up with Kyle." I am so confused! In his fake scenario, the animal participant in the bestiality is the one to blame?

JOHNSON: And by the way, I'm not the only one wondering why Kash Patel made bestiality an issue in the FBI at all. Senator Kennedy and I had the same questions.

JOHN KENNEDY: Why would you, in light of the context and what we're going through—and we're having a tough time attracting agents [jump cut] why would you even get into bestiality?

KASH PATEL: We are not into bestiality.

JOHNSON: Okay, now I definitely think Kash is into bestiality. Why do I get the feeling there's a video of Kash Patel partying in the locker room of the Westminster Dog Show? He’s just in there like, "Yeah, labradoodle. Let's go!" 

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