Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon mocked US in 94% of Iran war jokes, study finds

WASHINGTON, DC: A new study by the Media Research Center examined how major US late-night television hosts joked about the early days of the Iran war. The analysis found that the vast majority of jokes targeted the United States and its allies rather than Iran.

The research examined several popular late-night programs during the first week after the US and Israel launched a joint military operation targeting Iran’s military and political infrastructure amid growing concerns over its nuclear enrichment program.

Late-night hosts target US in most Iran war jokes

According to the study, late-night television hosts overwhelmingly directed their jokes at the US and its allies during the first week of the Iran war. Researchers reviewed 20 episodes of major late-night programs aired between March 2 and March 5.

These included 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' on ABC, 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on CBS, 'The Daily Show' on Comedy Central, 'Late Night with Seth Meyers,' and 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on NBC.

The report found that out of 250 war-related jokes, 235—or 94%—targeted the US and its allies, while only 15 focused on Iran. Analysts defined “allies” as countries participating in military action alongside the US, including Israel and Arab states that took defensive action against Iranian attacks.

The study also broadly defined a “war-related joke,” including jokes about military operations, political commentary surrounding the conflict, past statements by administration officials about war, and speculation about Iran’s political future.

Among the most frequent punchlines, the US itself accounted for 229 jokes. On the individual level, President Donald Trump was the most joked-about figure with 152 jokes. He was followed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with 23 jokes. Other targets included Sen. Markwayne Mullin with 14 jokes, Congressional Republicans with seven jokes, and Sen. Lindsey Graham with six.

Breakdown of war jokes across popular late-night shows

The study provided a detailed breakdown of how individual hosts approached the topic. Seth Meyers delivered the highest number of jokes about the US at 52, and every war-related joke in his sample targeted the American side.

Fallon aimed 36 of his 37 jokes—or 97%—at the US, while Kimmel directed 51 of his 53 jokes—or 96%—at America or its allies. Colbert told 43 of his 48 jokes—around 90%—about the allied side of the conflict.

Meanwhile, Jon Stewart and Michael Kosta on 'The Daily Show' combined to tell 53 of 60 jokes—or 88%—about the US and its partners.

Examples cited in the study included Kimmel joking that the Pentagon’s operation called 'Operation Epic Fury' was originally titled “Operation Epsteino Distracto.” He also compared Trump’s criticism of Iran’s leadership to what other countries might say about the US.

Colbert joked that “Epic Fury” was an anagram for “Forget Epstein” and mocked Trump’s warnings about the scale of attacks. Stewart criticized the operation’s name, joking, “Epic Fury? Is this a war or did the Paul brothers launch another energy drink?”

Kosta joked about a press conference by Hegseth and also commented on a friendly-fire accident involving American F-15s over Kuwait. Meyers mocked Trump for announcing military operations at 3 am from his private club, while Fallon conducted a mock interview referencing nuclear facilities, missile defenses, and the 'Epstein files.'

Regarding jokes about Iran, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was mentioned nine times, while there were four general jokes about Iran and two about his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who has since been selected as his successor.