Jimmy Kimmel apologizing to Matt Damon was nothing but a joke that was orchestrated on the spot by the show’s host during one of the show’s episodes back in 2005. There is no specific reason why Kimmel decided to do that.
James Christian Kimmel who is popularly known by his professional alias Jimmy Kimmel is a famous American Television host and executive producer of the well-known late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live which airs on ABC. The show which is held at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California started back in 2003 and is currently ongoing, making it one of the longest-running late-night talk shows on ABC.
The late-night talk show which is also known for being a political satire talk show witnesses huge Hollywood stars and other notable personalities making appearances on it and having a one-on-one interview with the show’s creator and host Jimmy Kimmel. Out of all the Hollywood stars, the one well-known actor who has a unique link to this show is Matt Damon, thanks to Kimmel's impromptu decision of jokingly dissing the actor back in 2005.
How did Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon’s fun feud start?
Late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon never fail to leave their fans laughing with their funny banter that has been ongoing for the past two decades. This all began when Jimmy Kimmel decided to unnecessarily apologize to Matt Damon for being unable to have him on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live. In 2005, the host ended one of the episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live (season 3) by saying “Apologies to Matt Damon, but we ran out of time" although the actor was never actually called on the show.
Because the joke received quite some attention from the viewers and the producer of the show was left amused, Jimmy Kimmel began stating the same line every day before concluding the show. This went on for about a year before Matt Damon appeared on the show.
What did Jimmy Kimmel have to say about the apology?
When asked why he began the joke about Matt Damon on the show during an interview with NPR in 2013, the late-night talk show host said, “We had a bad show…The guests were bad, and I was feeling pretty bad about myself at the end of the program.” The host then added, “And I decided to say, for the amusement of one of our producers who was standing next to me…’I want to apologize to Matt Damon. We ran out of time’…And he got a kick out of it, the producer, so I just started doing it every night to amuse him.”
Jimmy Kimmel was further asked why he chose Matt Damon’s name to which he said that he had no specific reason to do so. Kimmel said, “Matt Damon was just the first name that popped into my head. I was trying to think of an A-list star and somebody we absolutely would not bump if he was on the show…The legs on this bit are unbelievable to me. I mean, people laugh every time I say it…Repeating the same joke every single night, you’d think eventually people would get tired of it, but they don’t.”
Are Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon friends?
Yes, despite their staged enmity, Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon are really good friends. As per Matt Damon, the two weren’t friends before Kimmel began pulling this gag on him. Over the years the two have continued this on-screen fake feud and this is the very reason the two are great friends now. From interrupting each other's work to taking couples therapy, Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel have come far to entertain their fans out there.
FAQs
A. Matt Damon is 52 years old as of 2023.
A. Yes, Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel are great friends.
A. Jimmel Kimmel’s show Jimmy Kimmel Live! started broadcasting on January 26, 2003.
