Salon.com > Jimmy Kimmel

Must-see morning clip: Gary Busey’s commencement speech

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:34:00 +0000

Jimmy Kimmel called on actor Gary Busey to deliver a catch-all commencement speech for any college student whose own was lackluster.

Surely, college students facing a bleak job market will find inspiration in Busey's advice: "How do you find your passion? With your left hand."

Classy.

“Parks and Recreation” star Jim O’Heir shops at A&F

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:06:00 +0000

Jimmy Kimmel recently invited actor Jim O'Heir, who plays "Parks and Recreation" office oaf Jerry Gergich, to shop at the infamously douchey retail store Abercrombie & Fitch. The stunt was inspired by a 2006 Salon story that quotes Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries as saying his store is only for "cool kids":

"Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. "

Abercrombie does not carry plus sizes. Fortunately for O'Heir, Abercrombercrombercombie does.

Seth Meyers pick: Why must late night be so white and male?

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Let's just get this part out of the way first. It's not that Seth Meyers isn't fantastic. He is. He's charming and funny and personable. He's also, like his predecessor Conan O'Brien, a skilled writer whose boyish looks belie his dark, surreal sense of humor. (As "Saturday Night Live's" head writer, he's given the show some of its most memorably quotable moments of the past decade.)

And it's not that we like having these conversations every single goddamn time there's a vacancy anywhere on late-night television, one that is promptly filled by an affable white dude. Believe me, I'd love to write the "Hooray for this bold new era in television" story. But here we are again, America. With the official announcement Sunday that Meyers will be assuming the chair now occupied by Jimmy Fallon as host of "Late Night," our post-11 p.m. hours seem yet again to be largely safe, for the foreseeable future, from having any people of color or ovaries anywhere near them.

Jimmy Kimmel delivers amusing, tipsy speech at Time 100 dinner

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:04:00 +0000

As an attendee of the Time 100 dinner, honoring Time's most influential people in the world, Jimmy Kimmel toasted to Lena Dunham, who "taught me not to be afraid of my breasts," to Bassem Youssef, a man "who risks his life to bring laughter to his country -- and I would say I would just move," Jimmy Fallon, "who is getting me very, very drunk" and the ultimate comedian, Joe Biden:

Late night shows react to Boston Marathon explosion

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:30:00 +0000

The Boston Marathon explosion, which has been described like "a war zone" by the media, continues to weigh on the minds of Americans as officials search for answers. Last night, late night show hosts faced the unenviable challenge of attempting to distract Americans from the tragedy while still remaining sensitive to the horrific events that transpired only hours earlier.

Conan O'Brien, who is from Boston, reacted to the news by expressing his heartfelt concern, saying, "Boston's my hometown. It's where I grew up. It's where my family lives."

"Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson delivered an emotional rant at the opening of his show, saying, "Is anybody else sick of this [bleep]? I seem to have to say that too often."

Jimmy vs. Jimmy: The late night battle to come

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Late night television is like a pleasant backing track, inoffensively lulling you to sleep at night, until every so often it violently scratches and forces you to pay attention to it. Last week, it let out a shriek. Rumors began to fly that NBC was going to oust Jay Leno from “The Tonight Show” and replace him with “Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon, a move that will set up a whole new late night landscape. At some point in the not so distant future, the Jimmys Fallon and Kimmel, with their respective cadres of celebrity friends and knack for viral videos, will take over for Leno and Letterman as the dueling supernovas of the late night firmament.

The Leno-Letterman rivalry, which, unlike the incipient Fallon-Kimmel rivalry, has a lot of personal animosity behind it, has long since coalesced into a narrative: Leno is popular and a hack. Letterman is popular and not a hack. Leno is the choice of the masses. Letterman is the choice of the slightly more discerning viewer. Leno has a chin. Letterman has irony. Letterman may be on CBS, but Leno is the CBS-type property, hugely popular but no good, the late night equivalent of “Two and a Half Men.”

The state of late-night ratings: Leno still leads, but there are cracks in his armor

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:46:00 +0000

For a man who's reportedly about to be forced out of his job, Jay Leno's hardly bombing.

The host of NBC's "Tonight Show" continues to lead in the ratings: In the just-concluded February sweeps period, Leno led CBS's "Late Show" and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" among total viewers and viewers in the key 18-49 demographic.

The news for Leno isn't entirely good, though: The margin of victory in the most recent sweeps month (by which advertising rates are set) over longtime rival David Letterman in the key demographic was just 8 percent. And Leno's viewership, as is the case across the late-night dial, is disproportionately outside the young viewers advertisers court: With 1.003 million viewers out of 3.510 million under 50, only 29 percent or so of his viewers are actually in the age group to whom media buyers want to sell products. That's part of what BuzzFeed means when it describes Leno as not "cool" -- he's popular, but not among coastal elites, and also not among the sort of young viewers any network wants.

Jay Leno to be replaced by Jimmy Fallon by 2014: report

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:56:00 +0000

Bill Carter, who's been on the late-night television beat since Jay Leno outmaneuvered David Letterman to take over "The Tonight Show," reports a new twist in the saga: NBC has made a "commitment," short of a deal, for "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon to take over the flagship show by fall 2014.

This means that Jay Leno would be out of a job -- a situation he's found himself in before, when he was replaced by Conan O'Brien (who, like Fallon, anchored the 12:35 a.m. "Late Night"). Leno twisted NBC's arm, then, to give him a show at 10 p.m. (threatening to move and bring his legions of fans to another network), and the low ratings of the prime-time show led to O'Brien's low ratings. Leno returned months after his farewell "Tonight Show" appearance.

Leno, who lately has been making news for his sharp critiques of NBC's ratings and executives, is one of the network's few durable stars; he leads the ratings against David Letterman on CBS and the newly-installed Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.

Must-see morning clip: Now accepting donations for the yoga pants cause

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:16:00 +0000

Lululemon caused widespread panic earlier this week when it recalled its black yoga pants, which were discovered to be too sheer and revealing. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" has put together a PSA for the yoga pants shortage that will inevitably follow: "With your donation of just $120 a day, you can put one woman in one pair of yoga pants."

Go ahead and donate today:

Watch “Zero Dark Flirty”

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:49:00 +0000

In "Zero Dark Flirty," Jessica Chastain is a woman on a hunt for Osama bin Laden, the man of her dreams. Watch the trailer, below:

Morrissey bashes Jimmy Kimmel!

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:25:00 +0000

There is an argument that will never go out? Jimmy Kimmel started something he couldn't finish? That joke isn't funny anymore?

Morrissey and Jimmy Kimmel continued their battle of words on Wednesday, after the former Smiths singer canceled an appearance on Kimmel's show because the longtime vegetarian and animal rights activist did not want to appear on the same broadcast as the stars of A&E's "Duck Dynasty."

"I can't take the risk of being on a show alongside people who, in effect, amount to animal serial killers," Morrissey said.

Kimmel addressed the issue on his show last night with a video showing the duck hunters heading out in search of vegetables. He then cracked that he chose the hunters over Morrissey because they have guns, and Morrissey just depresses people.

But Moz fired back in a statement today which charged Kimmel of mocking depression and the parents of Sandy Hook, then blasted Kimmel for hosting a show with "an overwhelming loss of meaning."

Must-see morning clip: Jimmy Kimmel interviews “SNL” digital short creator Andy Samberg

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:17:00 +0000

Former "SNL" comedian and Lonely Island troupe member Andy Samberg talks about ladies (in general, they are nice) his upcoming gig as host of the Independent Spirit Awards (he has seen all the "names of the movies," at least) and his childhood (defined by gangsta rap and his dad's leather pants). Watch his three-part interview with Jimmy Kimmel, below:

“Girls” actor Adam Driver talks Marine Corps, Juilliard on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:18:00 +0000

Adam Driver, who plays Lena Dunham's (Hannah Horvath's) complicated and obsessive boyfriend, Adam Sackler, on HBO's "Girls" last night talked to Jimmy Kimmel about his unlikely and circuitous route to acting by way of the Marine Corps to Juilliard:

Must-see morning clip

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:21:00 +0000

Last night, late night TV had one of its most inventive moments in recent memory when Matt Damon pulled a Jason Bourne and took over "Jimmy Kimmel Live," turning it into "Jimmy Kimmel Sucks." With Kimmel bound and gagged in a chair, Damon then brought in a host of celebrity guests, including Robin Williams, BFF Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman and others.

Of what it felt like to finally get his revenge on Kimmel for repeatedly being "bumped" off the show — a running gag between the two — Damon said, "This is like, when I lost my virginity." Watch the intro, below:

Must-see morning clip

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel interviews Eric Hartsburg, the man who received $15,000 for tattooing the Romney/Ryan campaign logo on his face. Hartsburg says he plans to keep the tattoo "for the rest of my life," and says that his forehead space is still for sale.

Must-see morning clip

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:49:00 +0000

Jimmy Kimmel found yet another group of people who have "strong opinions" on "imaginary events," such as the Vice-Presidential Election. In last night's edition of "Lie Witness News," the crew interviewed people who were adamant about voting on Wednesday, Nov. 7.

Must-see morning clip

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

In another edition of Jimmy Kimmel's "Lie Witness News," the crew asks people about their polling experiences--one day before polls in the area opened up.

Jimmy Kimmel: Not everyone in Hollywood is a liberal

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The presidential election will end one way or another on Tuesday. Most Americans will be relieved to be done with the uncertainty and the attack ads, but there are a number of professions that will find themselves at a loss: pundits, political writers, losing candidates and late-night hosts among them. For months and months, late-night TV has gotten to gorge itself on the intensity and inanity of the election cycle and its bottomless helpings of gaffe upon gaffe.

How have they feasted in a non-partisan manner? And what will they eat when it's over? As we approach the election's resolution, Jimmy Kimmel answered such questions. In the lobby of BAM's Harvey theater in Brooklyn, where he was taping a stand of shows the same week that Hurricane Sandy arrived, Kimmel spoke about covering the election, staying balanced -- and why political dog jokes are always funny.

I wanted to ask you some questions about the election …

About the election? Oh, I don’t want to do that. I just hate that stuff.

Not like who you’re going to vote for, but [what it's like] making the show in election season.

All right, ask me the questions.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and a guy named Chris dropped by the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" set, taping in Brooklyn this week, to discuss Hurricane Sandy, how the two comedians first met and who is a bigger nerd.

Must-see morning clip

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:18:00 +0000

Hours before the second presidential debate, Jimmy Kimmel's crew pranked voters by asking for reactions to Candy Crowley, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's performance at the town hall. Their reactions are amazing: