Jimmy Kimmel is barely holding it together after losing his BFF and longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo — and Globe can reveal friends fear the late-night cutup is on the verge of a breakdown.

“Jimmy is spiraling,” says the insider. “He’s known Cleto since he was just a kid and he never expected him to be gone this soon. It’s got Jimmy facing his own mortality and questioning everything. He’s in a very dark place.”

Escobedo’s sudden death at age 59 came less than two months after ABC booted Kimmel, 58, off the air for his comments about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.

Despite condemning Kirk’s killing during his Sept. 15 broadcast, calling it “horrible and monstrous,” critics accused Kimmel of politicizing the tragedy.

The network pulled the plug for nearly a week before the show returned on Sept. 23, when a visibly emotional Kimmel offered condolences to Kirk’s family.

His TV return should have been a triumph, according to our insider, but Kimmel has not recovered from the “chilling” backlash.

“Jimmy got back on the air so a lot of people assume that he’s moved past this and is feeling like a champ, but that’s not the case. He feels very beaten down,” says the insider.

“He’s used to people not liking him, but the level of hate was more than he ever anticipated. He was getting death threats. No one should have to endure that.”

Even before the unexpected passing of his closest friend, the talk show host was hinting that he was ready to jump the late-night ship when his current contract expires in May 2026, per People.

But now friends fear even another six months may be “too much,” says our source.

“Jimmy is tired and he’s grieving and he’s completely burned out. You can see just by looking at him that he’s barely holding it together,” warns the insider.

“People in his life are begging him to step back from the show before the job eats him alive. They’re terrified that if he doesn’t make a change soon, the stress will destroy him. He’s never been this down.”