Jimmy Kimmel remains ready and willing to poke fun at his own suspension from last year, and on Thursday night, the ABC host did exactly that with Tyler Perry.
As Perry took the stage this week, Kimmel first pitched him a goofy movie, based on a story from two members of the audience. But, as the interview properly got going, Perry took a minute before diving in to express how glad he was to be on Kimmel’s show.
“No, it is good to see you my friend. It’s very good to see you. No, it’s very good to see you, here, no, no,” Perry said seriously, as Kimmel started a bit where the two would simply go back and forth praising each other.
“No, no, it’s very good to see you because there was a moment where we were worried that the show wouldn’t be on the air,” Perry explained. “So to see America rally around you…”
“Why, what happened?” Kimmel interjected.
The moment drew a big laugh from both Perry and the audience. The host was, of course, feigning ignorance about the fact that he was briefly suspended last year in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder. Indeed, fans and friends of Kimmel, both in the industry and outside it, rushed to the late night host’s defense at the time, eventually pushing back enough to get him reinstated.
“We had your back, buddy. We had your back, so I’m so glad you’re here,” Perry added.
You can watch Tyler Perry’s full appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in the video above.
