Fox News host mocked for saying John Lennon wouldn't be safe in NYC right now

Imagine there are no cable news talking heads. It would be easier if you turned off the TV.

Still, sometimes a host makes a comment that leads to such an extreme facepalm, it becomes inescapable. Here is one: Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade blasting New York City mayor Bill de Blasio by saying: "He wants you to hum 'Imagine' by John Lennon! He wants us to imagine? John Lennon wouldn't be safe in this city right now! He'd be hiding in his apartment."

John Lennon, of course, was shot and killed in front of his New York City apartment in 1980.

The statement came as protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement continue throughout the U.S. in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Kilmeade's comment was in reaction to the mayor saying on Wednesday that he didn’t support defunding NYPD but still found comfort in the iconic 1971 song.

Here are some of the reactions online:

Lennon's killer was Mark David Chapman, a former Beatles fan who turned against the band due to the group's perceived anti-Christian sentiments. He's currently imprisoned in New York.

"Imagine" has been repeatedly evoked in various ways since the start of the Covid pandemic, though seldom successfully. In March, a group of celebrities led by Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot were mocked – even among some of those sympathetic to their cause – for doing an off-key self-shot "Imagine" sing-along video.

To help combat systemic racism, please consider donating to these organizations:

• Campaign Zero, which is dedicated to ending police brutality in America through research-based strategies.
• Color of Change, which works to move decision makers in corporations and government to be more responsive to racial disparities.
• Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal services to people who have been wrongly convicted, denied a fair trial, or abused in state jails and prisons.

Related content:

• Watch Gal Gadot sing 'Imagine' with help from Sia, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, and more
• Peter Jackson's Beatles documentary finally gets a release date, thanks to Disney
• Paul McCartney remembers John Lennon at March for Our Lives in New York