Jimmy Kimmel Says He Didn’t Buy Nude Bea Arthur Painting
Despite what you’ve heard, Jimmy Kimmel says he isn’t the person who bought the nude painting of Bea Arthur at auction last week.
The joke seems to have started with a Twitter post from Kimmel’s friend Jeffrey Ross. The comedian posted a picture of himself holding the revealing portrait of the Golden Girls star. Ross, who called the talk show host a “generous guy,” said the painting was a big surprise.
Jimmy Kimmel later responded to the tweet with a post of his own.
“Bea is watching over all of us, but especially you,” he wrote.
Although many thought the buyer had finally been identified, it appears that the hold thing was a joke. According to the New York Daily News, Kimmel’s original response was deleted from his timeline. It was soon replaced with a tweet denying his purchase of the nude portrait.
“I did buy the Mona Lisa Lampanelli,” he joked.
Did Jimmy Kimmel actually buy the nude painting of Bea Arthur for Jeffrey Ross? The Hollywood Reporter confirmed with one of the comedian’s reps that the portrait in Ross’ post was actually something put together for Kimmel’s late night talk show. In short, he didn’t actually buy the painting.
The infamous Bea Arthur portrait was painted by John Currin back in 1991. Contrary to popular belief, the actress didn’t actually pose for the artist. According to Yahoo! TV, Currin said the portrait was based on his own lurid imagination.
“I was going to put a scarf ensemble on her like that from her Maude days, and I drew the body just to drape it. It was then that I realized that the painting was fantastic as it was,” he explained.
The tweets that sparked these reports are embedded below.
Biggest surprise of my life. Thank you @jimmykimmel – the most generous guy in the world!#BeaArthur ? moby.to/ohh9xo
— Jeffrey Ross (@realjeffreyross) May 24, 2013
Contrary to “news” reports, I didn’t buy the Bea Arthur painting – not even for @realjeffreyross – but I did buy the Mona Lisa Lampanelli
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 25, 2013
Ross even joked about the authenticity of the painting.
Whether this Bea Arthur painting is real or fake I’ll whack off to it forever. Thanks@jimmykimmel, a true original. moby.to/xz5w9y
— Jeffrey Ross (@realjeffreyross) May 25, 2013
What do you think about the rumors that suggested Jimmy Kimmel purchased the nude painting of Bea Arthur for Jeffrey Ross?
[Image via betto rodrigues / Shutterstock.com]
