He called it “the most important cause ever taken up,” and National UnFriend Day received the type of hype reserved for actually-important causes.
Wednesday night, Jimmy Kimmel and a flock of famous guests celebrated National UnFriend Day, a Kimmel-created holiday where Facebook users take a serious look at their list of “friends.”
(See 10 reasons to unfriend someone on Facebook.)
Kimmel’s phone bank included Fred Willard, Julie Bowen and Kevin Nealon, and Survivor host Jeff Probst said the tribe had spoken — and gave one girl the Facebook axe. Fans even threw parties across the country and corresponded via shaky webcam connections.
IndeFriendence Day, which Kimmel said could “make the world a little less annoying,” appeared to be a success. Even though it’s impossible to count the number of unfriendings around the world, Kimmel’s show counted hundreds of thousands of Facebook “friends” being removed.
(See why you should purge your Facebook friend list — and learn how to do it.)
Ultimately, though, Kimmel’s cause won’t even benefit himself. “Can I confide in you guys?” he asked the audience. “I’m not even on Facebook. This just seemed like a fun thing to do.”