To say “Jimmy Kimmel had an eventful year” is to utter even more of an understatement than “Regis Philbin had a Bronx accent.”
The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Jimmy Kimmel Live! host began the TV season in September getting suspended by ABC and nearly canceled by Donald Trump for a joke he made following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel then faced Trump’s cancellation-minded ire again this spring after he made an age-centric joke about Melania soon becoming a widow. In between? He had a pretty damn good year, as evidenced by his Emmy nominations for outstanding host of a game show for Millionaire (he is looking to repeat his 2025 win) while his late night show notched a half dozen noms, including for outstanding variety series.
How is Kimmel processing all of it? Does he feel like Stephen Colbert owes him something? What does he really think about Matt Damon’s and Ben Affleck’s performances on Millionaire? And which, um, presidential figure would he like to see on the telecast? We asked him a lightning round of questions about a slew of 2025-26 topics.
It’s been a very intense TV season for you. What will you remember most from it?
No question that what I will remember most is the reaction to our unscheduled vacation [after Kirk], which went so far beyond what I ever could have expected. I’ll never forget the support from friends, strangers and even those who generally make me throw up.
