“Jimmy Kimmel is thrilled to be staying on the air for another year! The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host shared the news of his one-year contract extension with ABC on Monday, December 8, much to the delight of his studio audience.”
“At 58, Kimmel joked that the show would continue airing ‘until May 2027 or until the world ends, whichever comes first.'”
“I thought about it, gave it a lot of thought, and decided I’d like to spend less time with my family,” Kimmel, 58, quipped. “So to our audience here and at home, I’m honored and humbled to be part of your routine whether it’s in bed at night or during your morning toilet time. Your attention means a lot to me.”
During Monday’s monologue, Kimmel also addressed President Donald Trump, who had called him a “horrible” host and claimed he could do better while hosting the Kennedy Center Honors on December 7. (“If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office ahead of the event.)
Responding to Trump, Kimmel said, “I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with anything more than that.” He added with a grin, “As far as this whole ‘who has more talent’ thing goes, it seems like he’s challenging me to a contest? If so, I’m open to it. Let’s do it. Let’s have a talent competition.”
Kimmel’s one-year renewal comes after a brief suspension in September following comments he made about the fatal shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
“The MAGA gang is desperately trying to paint the kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and they’re doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
He mocked Trump, 79, for responding to questions about Kirk’s death by talking about renovations to the White House ballroom. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” Kimmel said. “He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. This is not how an adult mourns the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”
Kimmel’s remarks drew backlash from many on the right, including FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who called for his suspension and urged ABC affiliates to pull the show. In response, media groups Sinclair and Nexstar preempted the program on their locally owned ABC stations.
Kimmel returned to the air on September 23 after a six-day suspension.
“It’s been overwhelming. Over the past six days, I’ve heard from so many people everyone I’ve ever known seems to have reached out 10 or 11 times,” Kimmel said on his first episode back. “Characters from my past, like the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle where, by the way, we are not airing tonight his name is Larry.”
He added, “You supported our show and made your voices heard so that mine could be heard, and I will never forget it. It takes courage to speak out against this administration, and those people did. They deserve credit and thanks for showing their followers that our government cannot control what we do and do not say on TV.”
