The ratings for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel surged higher than ever last week following his return from a brief suspension, and while Kimmel and his supporters gloated triumphantly, critics surmised that the popularity boost would be short-lived.

As it turned out, those critics were correct, as Kimmel's ratings plummeted by more than half just two days after his return to the airwaves, according to Fox News.

It seems as though Kimmel was not privy to that devastating news, though, or at least blatantly ignored it, as he used Monday's show to take a dig at Vice President JD Vance over "bulls--t" remarks he made last week about the host's low ratings.

Show ratings plummet

Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily suspended nearly two weeks ago by ABC's parent company Disney amid furious backlash over a controversial and false statement he'd made about the ideology of Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, but was allowed to return to his show less than a week later.

When Kimmel returned from his brief sidelining last Tuesday, an estimated 6.5 million viewers tuned in to watch, according to Fox News, much to the delight of the host and his left-leaning supporters.

However, just two days later, his viewership plunged by roughly 64% to just 2.3 million viewers on Thursday, just as the anti-Trump host's critics had predicted.

The drop for Kimmel was especially precipitous -- roughly 73% -- among the key demographics of adults aged 25-54 and 18-49, which fell from 1.7 million and 1.2 million, respectively, to 465,000 and 334,000 between Tuesday and Thursday.

Thursday's substantially reduced ratings place Kimmel back near his prior peak in popularity in 2015, when he averaged approximately 2.4 million viewers per night, only for that viewership to decline by an average of 100,000-200,000 year-to-year over the past decade, settling at around 1.6 million viewers per night just prior to his suspension.

Kimmel goes after JD Vance

According to People magazine, Kimmel used Monday's monologue to fire back at a critique about his ratings from Vice President Vance during a Fox News interview last week.

Vance had dismissed the allegation that Kimmel's suspension was the result of government pressure or threats from the Federal Communications Commission, and said, "And to the extent that he isn't in certain stations, it's because he's not funny, because his ratings aren't very good," and later reiterated that Kimmel was taken off the air "because advertisers don't like him because his ratings aren't very good."

In response to that objectively true statement, Kimmel called "bulls--t" and took a shot at the vice president's looks, implying that he wears makeup, as he quipped, "Vice President Maybelline was making the rounds, attempting to defend his boss and the chairman of the FCC with a new fairytale even a 5-year-old wouldn't believe."

Referencing his belated return to the air on Friday on broadcast affiliates owned by Nexstar and Sinclair, the host said, "I have some good news for you, J Dog. We're back on all the stations at every home, every bar, every strip club, and every prison in America."

"My ratings aren't very good!?" he continued. "Last time I checked, your ratings are somewhere between a hair in your salad and chlamydia."

"In three and a half years, I'm not the one who's going to be doing mascara tutorials on YouTube," Kimmel added. "How did we wind up with a president and a vice president who wear more makeup than Kylie Jenner and Lady Gaga combined?"