Jimmy Kimmel sent a comedian to interrupt a Roy Moore campaign rally in Alabama on Wednesday and now the embattled U.S. Senate candidate is fighting mad.
A former “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” writer, Tony Barbieri frequently plays the character Jay Byrd on the ABC late-night show, where he is sent on location to interrupt speeches, rallies and media interviews. On Wednesday he was sent to an Alabama church to pose as a Roy Moore supporter.
When Moore’s speech was interrupted by protesters, Barbieri, wearing a “Gimme Moore” t-shirt, jumped up to loudly defend him. “He’s a man’s man, the judge is a man’s man!” he can be heard shouting in video of the incident obtained by AL.com. “Does that look like the face of a molester?”
“Tune in to JKL tonight for a fun li’l trip to the heart of Dicksy,” Barbieri wrote in an Instagram post showing him pointing at Moore.
Taking issue with the stunt, Moore angrily tweeted at Kimmel, “If you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man.”
“Sounds great Roy – let me know when you get some Christian values and I’ll be there!” Kimmel wrote back.
A candidate for an Alabama Senate seat, Moore has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior toward multiple young and underage girls. He vehemently denied the allegations in Wednesday’s speech, calling them “false, numerous and vicious.”
Sounds great Roy – let me know when you get some Christian values and I’ll be there!
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) November 30, 2017