In one of the most surreal scenes to take place on late-night television, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell made his return to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday (January 31) night… inside a claw machine.
The MyPillow CEO appeared just days after his failed bid to become the Chair of the Republican National Committee, where he lost after receiving four of the 167 votes cast. But as for why his interview took place from inside an arcade game, well, Lindell told his Facebook followers it was because he is not vaccinated.
“A lot of you have reached out to me: ‘Mike, don’t do it; he’s going to attack you. Why did you agree to go inside a claw game?’” Lindell said during a Facebook live stream (via Rolling Stone). “Which I did, because they… you can’t go inside the studio if you’re not vaccinated. And of course, I’m not vaccinated.”
Kimmel, however, shot down this explanation. At the top of Tuesday’s show, the late-night host said, “I did not insist that Mike be in a claw machine because he’s not vaccinated. I insisted he be in a claw machine because it’s hilarious… This isn’t a political statement. This is just for fun.”
The comedian later joked that it was to “help [Lindell] overcome his debilitating fear of machines” — the controversial pillow salesman claims the 2020 presidential elections were rigged. When Kimmel asked if he thought the Republican National Committee vote was rigged too, Lindell said no, “because there [were] no machines involved.”
“So you would have lost either way, is what you’re saying?” quipped Kimmel.
The bizarre interview then took an even stranger turn when comedian James Adomian entered the scene playing the role of Lindell. The real-life pillow mogul took the ribbing in good spirits as Adomian attempted to break him out of the dreaded claw machine.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 10/9 c, ABC
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