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Wayne Brady believes that everyone deserves a second chance.
The "Let's Make a Deal" host weighed in on Jimmy Kimmel's recent blackface controversy and some inappropriate jokes he made in the past, including using the N-word multiple times in a song from the 1996 comedy Christmas album, "A Family Christmas in Your A**."
"Someone like Jimmy Kimmel, I've watched him as a fan and I've been on his show a couple [of] times," Brady told Entertainment Tonight. "He has grown. People should be allowed the place to grow. If I said something stupid when I was 15, am I the same guy at 20? Am I the same guy at 25? Am I the same guy at 30?"
Brady also doesn't agree with the rampant cancel culture on social media because it's a "real" and a powerful force.
"I've learned we should be allowed to learn and grow," Brady explained. "The thing with being on TV and being a film star, being a news person or a politician, is your time to grow is when you're in the public eye. You have no control over what the zeitgeist thinks, so it's a rough place to be. I think it also holds people accountable. It holds comedy accountable."
Wayne Brady (L) and Jimmy Kimmel (R) (Getty/AP)
The 48-year-old "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" star said that there's a difference between a comedian who tells a bad joke and is remorseful and a comedian who doesn't care if she or he hurts people.
Brady said, "If you made a bad joke -- and lord knows we've all done it -- then you go, 'I am so sorry. I don't know what the hell I was thinking and that will never come out of my mouth again. I'm an idiot.' As opposed to, 'I'm not backing down. Funny is funny and that's just that.' I don't believe in that.'"
JIMMY KIMMEL APOLOGIZES IF HE 'HURT OR OFFENDED' ANYONE WITH BLACKFACE SKITS, OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE
On Tuesday, Kimmel penned an apology on social media for his past racist acts.
“I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us. That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke,” the late-night host told Fox News in a statement.
Jimmy Kimmel attends the Disney/ABC/Freeform 2018 Upfront Party at Tavern on the Green in New York. (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)
“We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible. I never considered that this might be seen as anything other than an imitation of a fellow human being, one that had no more to do with Karl’s skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head. I’ve done dozens of impressions of famous people, including Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie, and many others. In each case, I thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more,” Kimmel said in the statement.
“Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices,” he added.
EMMYS MUM ON 2020 AWARDS HOST JIMMY KIMMEL AMID COMIC'S BLACKFACE CONTROVERSY, APOLOGY
Kimmel said that he has changed over the years and “anyone who watches” his show can vouch that he’s evolved.
“I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that,” Kimmel’s statement added. “I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.
Wayne Brady is a guest on 'Good Morning America.' (ABC/Fred Lee)
"Thank you for giving me an opportunity to explain and to those I’ve disappointed, I am sorry," he said.
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Kimmel abruptly announced last Thursday he's taking the summer off to spend more time with his family. He has been tapped to host the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. To conclude the statement, he said that his upcoming vacation was preplanned and he will be back to work in September.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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