Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel attempted to bring some levity to the news that Toys R’ Us is closing its stores during his show last week, by inviting Toys R’ Us mascot “Geoffrey” on to his show. The instantly recognizable giraffe showed up, apparently drunk, and things deteriorated from there.
The demise of Toys R’ Us, and the closing of its nearly 800 stores has been a sad story, not just for those who work there, but for the millions nationwide who grew up buying their toys from the popular chain.
An apparently drunken Geoffrey lashed out at audience members for buying “toys on Amazon. Now I’m out of a job.”
Kimmel’s attempt at humor, along with his inebriated giraffe, did not sit well with at least one Toys R’ Us employee.
Kelly Peters of White Hall Township in Pennsylvania wrote a letter to the editor in response to Kimmel’s skit:
On Thursday night on ABC, the Jimmy Kimmel show was on. He insulted me and the other 33,000 employees of Toys R Us. I have been an employee there since 1993.
He actually had the nerve to add that our mascot was drunk and sad. Children enjoy Geoffrey. Does he realize how childish he acted? And what is really upsetting is that the audience laughed.
I ask you if the shoe were on the other foot, would you be laughing? Think before you speak.
Kelly Peters
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