Comedian and ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has claimed the reason so many of his fellow late-night hosts are liberal is because the job requires a certain “intelligence” that conservatives apparently lack.

“It just so happens that almost every talk show host is liberal and that’s because it requires a level of intelligence,” Kimmel said during a live event for progressive podcast show Pod Save America.

The line was tweeted out by Emily Favreau, the wife of the former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, who was hosting the event.

“It just so happens that almost every talk show host is a liberal and that’s because it requires a level of intelligence” – @jimmykimmel @PodSaveAmerica live pic.twitter.com/yNKbpzVNUp — Emily Black Favreau (@ebfavs) February 4, 2018

The line was quickly ridiculed by Twitter users, who accused Kimmel of being arrogant.

Kimmel's obnoxiousness meter has never been higher https://t.co/DmehBKQOtJ — Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) February 4, 2018

Seems like a really intelligent talk show host wouldn't insult half their potential audience. https://t.co/RK8ZZhMhOL — Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) February 4, 2018

They are also all mostly white men, or aren’t we going there? https://t.co/2xNv3U9Beb — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 4, 2018

Careers that ooze intelligence:

3. Rocket scientist

2. Neurosurgeon

1. Late night host who says funny things writers write for himhttps://t.co/odZY4ZZEj2 — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 4, 2018

Throughout his career, Kimmel has been a staunch defender of Democrats, and regularly attacks conservatives and Donald Trump supporters on his show Jimmey Kimmel Live.

However, Kimmel is just one of the many late-night talk-show hosts known for their liberal beliefs, with other prominent figures such as Seth Meyers, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, and James Corden regularly making left-wing political statements.

Academics have undertaken extensive research to determine whether people are more or less intelligent based on their political beliefs, but no scientific consensus has ever been reached.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.