Although Jimmy Kimmel is currently safe from the wrath of the FCC, he just can’t seem to outrun his on-air feud with Matt Damon.
The Oscar winner continued his playful back-and-forth with the 5x Emmy-winning talk show host as the recently threatened late-night series concluded its week-long Brooklyn residency, stepping out onstage in disguise as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul‘s big green mascot for a campaign to get kids to stay off their phones in school.
“Why is it so important for kids to pay attention in school, Frankie?” Kimmel asked Frankie Focus, who then started roasting him.
“Because they’ll never get a college degree,” said Frankie. “Say, Jimmy, did you get a college degree?”
Looking embarrassed, Kimmel said, “Why did you ask me that? No, I didn’t get one.”
“Well, I could tell… from watching your stupid monologue” Frankie quipped before repeating his apparent catchphrase with a wave. “Hi, everybody!”
Kimmel stammered as the neon green mascot pointed to him and asked the audience, “Isn’t he dumb?”
“I’m not gonna stand here and be insulted by a hot green sewer Labubu. I’m not gonna take it,” said Kimmel, to which Frankie fired back: “Well, I’m not gonna be insulted by a guy who looks like they dragged Jimmy Fallon out of the Gowanus Canal. Hi, everybody!”
That crossed the line for the host, who tore the mask off to reveal Damon, who was greeted with enthusiastic applause. Kimmel wasn’t as happy about the reunion, asking if the costume “is a sex thing? Are you a furry? You’re a furry! ‘Dunkin Dumbass’ is a furry, everybody!”
“Look, I wore this costume as a last chance to get on the show. I know we’ve had our differences over the years, but I wanted to be here tonight for your last show ever,” said Damon to laughter. “I mean, hey guys, we’ve been at this for a long time together—I mean, almost together for like 23 years. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
After Kimmel clarified “this isn’t my last show ever,” Damon questioned, “It isn’t? But the president canceled you… which I was a big fan of, by the way! I mean, when he said you had like zero ratings and no talent, I was like, ‘I’ve been saying that for years.’”
Kimmel’s Brooklyn week comes after he returned to air last week following his brief suspension, driving 6.26 million viewers for ABC. That’s without the 23% of U.S. households where affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair were still preempting the late-night show before both relented.
ABC previously announced the show was “preempted indefinitely,” which many criticized as an attack on free speech, following the FCC’s warning about the late-night host’s Charlie Kirk comments and Donald Trump’s celebration of the show’s suspension.
Known for his ‘Prove Me Wrong’ debates and MAGA POV, Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 in a tragedy that sent shockwaves through the political and media worlds.
Having previously mocked Trump over POTUS’ take on the NFL and TikTok, Kimmel offered his blunt assessment of the aftermath of Kirk’s death in his opening monologue on his September 15 show: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he said.
