Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Larry David Over 2 Slave-Owning Ancestors on ABC

Q: How has Larry David processed learning his Jewish immigrant ancestor owned slaves after joining the Confederacy?

Larry David appears to have processed the revelation mainly through humor and public self-mockery, rather than by offering a detailed personal reckoning on air. On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” when Henry Louis Gates Jr. revisited the “Finding Your Roots” discovery that David’s great-great-grandfather Henry Bernstein, a Jewish immigrant from Bavaria, owned two slaves after settling in Mobile, Alabama, David did not dispute or minimize it. Instead, he responded in the same dry, ironic style that has long defined his comedy. When Kimmel joked that his own family had no slave-owning history, David smiled and shot back, “Oh, I guess that makes you better than me, right?” That exchange suggests David has chosen to absorb the news by acknowledging the uncomfortable fact and turning it into dark humor. Gates supplied the historical context, but neither the interview nor the additional reporting provides evidence that David has publicly described a deeper emotional or moral process beyond that. So the clearest answer, based on available reporting, is that David has handled the discovery by openly referencing it, accepting it as part of his family history, and defusing the discomfort with jokes. There is no accessible evidence in the cited material that he has publicly elaborated further on how he processed it in private.

Q: How did Larry David and the Obamas' company team up for a new show skewering American history?

Larry David teamed up with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions by co-creating an HBO sketch-comedy series, “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” built around satirizing major moments in American history ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The partnership came through Higher Ground’s role as executive producer, alongside David and longtime collaborator Jeff Schaffer, who wrote and produced the show. The series was developed for HBO and HBO Max after Higher Ground expanded beyond its earlier exclusive studio arrangement, allowing it to work on projects with other outlets. The premise is that the Obamas wanted a respectful project marking the country’s semiquincentennial, but Larry David’s sensibility took it in a different direction. Promotional material leans into that joke, with one logline saying the Obamas planned to honor America’s history “but then Larry David called.” Another teaser features Obama humorously interacting with David over an absurd request, underscoring the unlikely pairing. The result is a short-run sketch series — reported as six or seven episodes — that places David’s familiar neurotic, confrontational comic persona inside pivotal historical episodes. Rather than a traditional documentary or tribute, it uses improvisation, guest appearances and irreverent sketches to reinterpret the American past through David’s style.

Q: After a 53-year wait, will the Knicks' championship inspire any of Larry David's new comedy sketches?

Probably not. Nothing in Larry David’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” appearance or the available details about his new HBO series suggests the Knicks’ long-awaited title will be turned into a sketch. The key reason is the subject of the show itself. “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” premiering June 26, is described as a historical sketch-comedy series tied to America’s 250th anniversary, with David and Jeff Schaffer using major moments from U.S. history as the comic target. Reports about the project emphasize historical satire, not current events or sports. David did clearly revel in the Knicks’ championship run. On Kimmel, he talked about the stress of the comeback win over San Antonio, joked about trying to get Spurs players to recognize him, and leaned into his identity as a die-hard Knicks fan. That makes the title run ripe material for his humor in interviews or future stand-up-style anecdotes. But based on the information available, there is no evidence that the 2026 Knicks championship is part of this new series. If it shows up anywhere, it would more likely be as an offhand joke or a future separate bit rather than a central sketch in this particular project.

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Jun 19

Henry Louis Gates Jr. told “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that Larry David’s great-great-grandfather Henry Bernstein owned two slaves after moving from Bavaria to Mobile, Alabama and joining the Confederacy.
Jimmy Kimmel used the revelation to rib David on air, contrasting it with his own family history and joking that David’s relatives were slaveowners while his were not.
Larry David leaned into the bit, smiling and replying, “Oh, I guess that makes you better than me, right?” during the Thursday appearance promoting his HBO sketch series debuting June 26.
The exchange revisited David’s earlier “Finding Your Roots” episode, where he reacted with mock excitement on learning of the ancestor, a moment that has remained one of the show’s most memorable clips.