After “Jimmy Kimmel Stay!” gained the 2026 Critics Selection Award for Greatest Discuss Present, its host took the chance to mirror on his eventful 2025.
Showing within the winners room backstage on the Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hangar, Kimmel joked about his one-week suspension associated to his feedback in regards to the demise of Charlie Kirk. The host spoke in regards to the help he acquired from mates within the leisure trade and free speech activists, however he wasn’t afraid to joke in regards to the political enemies that he made as properly.
“For one factor, this one is actual heavy and sharp and I might use this as a weapon in case one in all these maniacs breaks into my dwelling. In order that’s good, that’s a plus,” Kimmel stated with amusing whereas inspecting his statuette.
Kimmel in contrast the outpouring of encouragement that he acquired to a scene in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” through which three pirate-loving mates run away from dwelling, solely to return in time to attend their very own “funeral” thrown by family members who thought they had been useless.
“It was virtually a near-death expertise for me,” he stated of his suspension and subsequent return. “And naturally, not actually, however I did really feel just a little bit like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn watching their very own funeral when all these items occurred. And to be right here and to see that individuals reacted to it in not only a constructive method, however in virtually a determined method. We’re like, ‘Oh, boy, after they come after the comedians, that is after we draw the road.’ And we’re very grateful that they drew the road at us.”
Between Kimmel’s suspension and CBS’ cancellation of “The Late Present,” the way forward for the late evening discuss present appears doubtful at occasions. However Kimmel expressed his optimism about the way forward for the medium, saying that even when productions” must get smaller, the viewers for his form of present will stay.
“I believe there’ll all the time be late evening discuss exhibits,” he stated. “They might not occur late at evening. I believe there are some exhibits which might be known as ‘late evening discuss exhibits’ that aren’t late evening discuss exhibits that also have the identical format. And perhaps we’d like a special time period for them, but it surely appears to me it’s one of many most cost-effective types of broadcasting. And it might be very shocking to me if it went away completely. I believe perhaps it gained’t be as massive, perhaps there gained’t be an enormous band welcoming the host of the stage. Perhaps there gained’t be 15 writers, however I believe there shall be some model of a late evening discuss present. And in a method, perhaps it’ll be higher as a result of perhaps there shall be extra alternatives for extra individuals of varied backgrounds and ages and area of interest programming that I believe might be loads of enjoyable to look at.”
