Fox News host says John Lennon — who was killed in New York — 'wouldn't be safe' in the city right now

"John Lennon wouldn't be safe in this city right now."
 By 
Anna Iovine
 on 
Fox News host says John Lennon — who was killed in New York — 'wouldn't be safe' in the city right now

Days after an NYPD car floored it into a group of protesters — just one of many instances of police violence in the city — New York City mayor Bill de Blasio responded with...John Lennon lyrics.

"I don't mean to make light of this but I'm reminded of the song 'Imagine' by John Lennon," said de Blasio, according to journalist Jack Mirkinson. He went on to say that defunding the police, a rallying cry of the George Floyd protests, was "not the way forward."

De Blasio was subsequently roasted by social media and traditional media outlets, and then Fox News got ahold of the quote. On Fox & Friends Thursday morning, Brian Kilmeade thought he was delivering a brilliant zinger about the mayor:

"John Lennon wouldn't be safe in this city right now," said Kilmeade. "He'd be hiding in his apartment."

For those who are unaware (like Kilmeade, apparently), John Lennon was murdered in New York in 1980. His killer, Mark David Chapman, shot him four times outside his luxury Manhattan apartment. He's still in prison and his eleventh parole hearing is scheduled for this August.

Maybe Kilmeade should do some fact-checking. Imagine that?

Topics Politics

anna iovine, a white woman with curly chin-length brown hair, smiles at the camera
Anna Iovine
Associate Editor, Features

Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky.

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