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Author Of One Of Jimmy Kimmel's 'Mean Tweets' Offers Up A Sarcastic Apology
Jimmy Kimmel has received flack for his popular recurring segment "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets." Some people believe they're not real or planted by writers for the late-night show, which is known for its A+ trolling. But LAist has obtained information proving that at least one of those mean tweets is very real, and that its author is sorry. Well, sort of.
Last night Kimmel had stars read mean tweets about themselves aloud on stage (usually it's a pre-recorded segment). Among those tweets was one written by George Lelea, Jr. nearly five years ago. Actress Kristen Bell read the following tweet: "Kristen Bell seems like such a bitch, her vagina is probably an Alcatraz for penis."
Lelea told LAist he was surprised that his tweet made it on the show: "Pretty weird that a 5 year old tweet from a nobody was dug up like that." He wrote this on Facebook today:
Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, they used one of my tweets from 2011 about Kristen Bell for their "Mean Tweets" segment. I AM NOT PROUD OF THIS. I'd like to apologize to Ms. Bell and women everywhere. I'd also like to apologize to Alcatraz survivors and the City of San Francisco. I know better. Even at 19, I could have written a much better joke. I have over 5 women friends and I find Ms. Bell to be delightful and charming and they deserve better material. I hope to grow and learn from this experience and hope that I can be a better joke writer and more concise with my humor in the future. Good day to you all.
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He told LAist that he was "sorry that it wasn't a good joke."
Lelea says his apology was meant to mock the kinds of #sorrynotsorry apologies public figures make after they've messed up or been shamed for one reason or another:And it was definitely a satire of celebrities apologizing for things they shouldn't have to apologize for. There's too much fake outrage out there and it's annoying how often people succumb to fake outrage. People aren't really upset. They're upset at other things and projecting it on jokes or otherwise... But I'm not some guy to stand on a soapbox. I made the tweet when i was 19. Didn't think it would be anything...
At the end of the day though. I wouldn't write something like that now, there's no need for that when celebrities all have people saying vicious shit about them at all times. Have you read any comments on any Kim Kardashian post? Vicious. There's a lot of courage that people have when they're behind a screen. I wouldn't have said that to Kristen Bell's face now and I wouldn't have then.
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