Don't be surprised if MyPillow's Mike Lindell and Elon Musk emerge unscathed, if not stronger, from their late-night appearances

The Daily Beast

Lindell appearing tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Musk hosting SNL next week begs the question: Who deserves a late-night platform? As Matt Wilstein points out, Lindell's visit to Kimmel after weeks of mockery feels "a bit incestuous," with both sides benefitting from the booking. "But the fact that Lindell is so thrilled at the opportunity to bring his message of anti-vaxxer, democracy-denying 'free speech' to Kimmel’s audience should at least give the late-night host pause," says Wilstein. "And it should make him and his team stop to think, 'What exactly is the point of all this?' The answer, more often than not, is of course ratings and buzz, which Kimmel’s sit-down with Lindell will no doubt receive. The driving force behind Saturday Night Live’s decision to have Elon Musk host the show next month is the same. That announcement was mostly met with some version of, 'Has Lorne Michaels learned nothing?' in reference to Donald Trump’s disastrous turn as SNL host in the fall of 2015." Wilstein adds: "Now sure, there is a chance that Kimmel will thoroughly embarrass and expose Lindell this Wednesday night when he shows up for his in-studio appearance. And SNL might find a way to call Musk out for his irresponsible pandemic takes. But if the past is prologue in either case, each man will almost certainly emerge unscathed, if not stronger. One only has to look at Kimmel’s extremely chummy interviews just last week with Ellen DeGeneres and noted painter George W. Bush to see how unwilling he is to hold his guests accountable for their past sins, be it mistreating low-level employees or full-on war crimes. When late-night hosts are criticized for going too soft on their guests, they usually respond with some version of 'I’m just a comedian.' Or as Fallon said a few days after his 2016 Trump interview, 'Have you seen my show? I’m never too hard on anyone.' But if that’s the case, then they clearly need to think harder about who they have on." ALSO: Elon Musk is using hosting SNL to plug cryptocurrency Dogecoin.