Jimmy Kimmel wants to Make Pizza Great Again.
The late-night TV show host urged viewers last Monday to call their senators and tell them, “We will not stand for pumpkin spice pizza.”
That special pie is the creation of Villa Italian Kitchen, a nationwide pizzeria chain founded in midtown in 1964. Villa Italian introduced the pumpkin spice-flavored pizza to its 230 locations — including five in New York City — the previous Friday “in honor of the first day of fall,” a news release said.
“There’s no denying that everyone loves pizza, so combining our hit Neapolitan cheese slice with the delicious fall flavors of pumpkin spice just made sense,” Mimi Wunderlich, the company’s director of communications and digital marketing strategy, said in a statement. “We are confident that this seasonal twist on our beloved cheese pizza will be a hit with all of our pumpkin spice-loving guests this fall!’”
On last Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Kimmel characterized the dish, made with pumpkin pie filling and whole milk mozzarella, as a “threat on the horizon that is maybe even more disturbing than anything we’ve seen in Congress this week,” referring to the GOP’s failed Obamacare replacement bill.
“Someone — I don’t know who, probably a monster — decided it would be a good idea to combine pumpkin spice and pizza, two things that go together like peanut butter and snow tires,” Kimmel said.
“I don’t even believe they did this on purpose,” the comedian added. “I bet a delivery guy spilled his latte on an order and refused to admit that he screwed up.”
Asking his viewers to keep in mind the hypothetical case of an Indiana girl whose first exposure to pizza is Villa Italian’s invention — “she hates it, she wastes years of her life thinking pizza tastes like nutmeg and she never tries it again” — Kimmel urged them to take action.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to pick up your phones and call your senators again,” said the health care activist, who implored his audience to oppose the Graham-Cassidy health bill last week in light of its failure to protect health insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. “Tell them we will not stand for pumpkin spice pizza. Let’s Make Pizza Great Again and God Bless America.”
Villa Italian Kitchen thanked Kimmel for the shoutout on Instagram, but took issue with his review.
“We respectfully disagree! Our pumpkin spice pizza is awesome and we challenge you to try it for yourself!” wrote the company, which is selling slices for $4.09 at most locations.
Kimmel isn’t the only late-night TV host to showcase the sweet and savory pie on his show: last week, Seth Meyers announced its introduction to Villa’s menu.
“If you like that, you’re going to love Starbucks’ new linguine mocha,” he added.
