Jimmy Kimmel, has hinted at the possibility of returning as host for the coveted Academy Awards in 2025. This revelation came as a counter-strike to comments made by ex-president Donald Trump, who critiqued Kimmel’s performance at a previous Oscars ceremony.
“Maybe — you know what — maybe you can watch on the TV in the rec room at Riker’s with all the guys.”
This was Kimmel’s humorous response on his ABC talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, after receiving close to a hundred messages regarding Trump’s criticisms. The comments were made by the former president on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump, aged 77 and currently facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, accused Kimmel of having never recovered from his “horrendous performance and big ratings drop as Host of The Academy Awards”. The former president even mixed up Kimmel with Al Pacino, claiming Kimmel messed up the presentation of the “Picture of the Year” award.
Kimmel, however, firmly reminded viewers that he was merely the host and did not present awards, unlike Pacino.
According to Deadline, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has already reached out to Kimmel for the hosting role in the 2025 Oscars. This news comes despite Trump’s negative comments on Kimmel’s performance.
Kimmel is no stranger to Trump’s one-sided feud, which began when Kimmel read a post from the embattled president during a star-studded event last month.
Trump had written, “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars…Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent,’ George Slopanopoulos.”
Kimmel, never one to back down from a challenge, responded on stage during the live broadcast by saying, “I’m surprised you’re still [up]…Isn’t it past your jail time?”
Kimmel’s wife and co-executive producer, Molly McNearney, revealed that she had attempted to dissuade Kimmel from reading Trump’s criticisms on stage.
“I’m really not proud of this, but I tried to talk Jimmy out of reading that,” McNearney, 46, told Variety after the telecast.
McNearney, 46, felt that Trump’s remarks should not be given any airtime during the Oscars. However, Kimmel decided to proceed, turning what could have been a sour note into a humorous segment.
