It's no secret that pretty much the entire gaming industry hates Jimmy Kimmel right now. In case you do happen to be unaware, last week, the late-night talk show host poked fun at the idea of YouTube Gaming with a skit during his show. It wasn't anything overly offensive, but you know how gamers can be — they lashed out at Kimmel, bombarding him with vicious comments and death threats. It was an all-out attack on the late-night host, with everything from threats on his family to wishes he gets cancer.
In a follow-up, Kimmel took to his show once again to address the response he got for his initial skit. And while he admitted he doesn't understand the idea of "Let's Play" videos, or watching others play games on YouTube as a form of entertainment, he did little to rectify the problem.
That changed this week, when Kimmel, in attempt to understand the concept of Let's Plays, created his own video with two of the biggest YouTubers — Markiplier and Jonna Mae. It's not an apology for what he said, as he points out "it's a comedy show, sometimes we make jokes," but I'm sure many will at least appreciate his trying to understand the phenomenon of watching others play games.
It's a little forced at times, but I think Kimmel is genuine in what he says about the reactions. I think this is, in his own way, a peace offering to gamers he offended. It's clear at the end when he asks his guests "Will you tell the people not to kill me?" that Kimmel is ready to move on from the threats. Even for a celebrity like himself, it's got to be tough to read the thousands of inappropriate comments he's been receiving.
