During his crossover appearance on Tuesday’s edition of “The Late Show,” Jimmy Kimmel walked Stephen Colbert through the moments before and after he learned that ABC had indefinitely suspended him and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“It was an emotional roller coaster. I know you hear that a lot. It really was. It was very strange,” Kimmel began, before telling Colbert that he got a call from ABC on the day in question just 90 minutes before he was scheduled to tape that day’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” episode. In order to get some privacy, he decided to take the call in the nearest bathroom.
“I go into the bathroom. I’m on the phone with ABC executives and they say, ‘Listen, we want to take the temperature down. We are concerned about what you’re going to say tonight. We’ve decided that the best route is to take the show off the air,’” Kimmel recalled. In response to boos from Colbert’s audience, the late night host joked, “That’s what I said! I started booing!”
“I said, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ and they said, ‘Well, we think it’s a good idea.’ And then there was a vote and I lost the vote,” Kimmel explained. “I walked out to my office and I called in some of the executive producers. There were about nine people in there and I said, ‘They’re pulling us off the air.’ My wife said I was whiter than Jim Gaffigan when I came out of there.”
You can watch part of Kimmel’s “Late Show” interview in the video below.
When asked what his thinking was in the aftermath of his suspension, Kimmel confessed, “I thought, ‘That’s it. It’s over. It is over. I’m never coming back on the air.’”
While he was processing that, Kimmel and his staff had to send home the studio audience that had already gathered. They also had to break the news to his guests, which included musician Howard Jones and chef Christian Petroni, who had already prepared meatballs and polenta for the show.
“We said, ‘Oh, we sent the audience home. We need the staff to go in and listen to Howard Jones and pretend to be the audience,’” Kimmel revealed. “And then the staff went and ate polenta and meatballs after.” When he and his wife eventually arrived home hours later, Kimmel said one of his kids offered her father some heartwarming support.
“I’ve got two kids. Our daughter, who is 11 years old, says, ‘I can sell my Labubus.’ It was actually very sweet,’” Kimmel remembered, before adding, “Our son just got naked and started running around the house.”
Colbert, for his part, told Kimmel he heard from countless people after it was announced that CBS had canceled “The Late Show,” including his high school girlfriend, “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin and James Taylor.
“I did hear from literally everyone I have ever met,” Kimmel said in response. “I heard from a lot of people who have been guests on the show. I got a beautiful note from James Taylor.” When Colbert incredulously asked if he really heard from Taylor as well, Kimmel replied, “I did. I would love to compare those. I want to see if J.T. did a cut and paste on us.”
