Jimmy Kimmel took Jimmy Kimmel Live! to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for a weeklong residency. It took one night for his longest-running rival to show up. Matt Damon crashed Kimmel's monologue during Monday night's opening show in Brooklyn. When Kimmel tried to have his nemesis thrown out, he found out Damon hadn't come alone. It's the latest round in a Matt Damon vs. Jimmy Kimmel feud that has run for about 20 years.
Kimmel was joking about the Yankees–Red Sox postseason matchup when a heckler in a Red Sox cap yelled "Go Sox!" from the crowd. Shouting that in a New York room is risky. The heckler was Matt Damon, who grew up near Boston.
Kimmel called him "the loser in the Red Sox cap" and told security to get him out. Damon said he hadn't snuck in. He had come with family, but not his own.
Damon was sitting with Kimmel's mother, Joan, and his sister, Jill. As security moved in, Damon hit back:
"You can keep me off the show. You can't keep me out of your mom."
Damon then led both women out of the audience, chanting "Let's go, Sox!" as he went. Kimmel was left on his own stage while his family left with his enemy. This isn't the first time Damon has crashed Kimmel's Brooklyn run. He also turned up during the show's New York stint last year.
Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel's Feud: A Brief History
The gag goes back to 2005, when Kimmel started closing episodes with "Apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time." Since then, the fake feud has grown into one of the longest-running bits in late-night TV:
- 2008: Sarah Silverman, Kimmel's girlfriend at the time, released the viral music video "I'm F***ing Matt Damon," with Damon playing along. Kimmel answered with his own star-packed video about Ben Affleck.
- 2013: Damon "took over" Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a full episode. He tied Kimmel to a chair and brought in guests such as Ben Affleck, Sheryl Crow, and Andy Garcia.
- 2017: Kimmel hosted the Oscars and kept going after Damon all night. He even had the orchestra play Damon off while he was presenting.
Over the years, the bit has included sabotaged interviews, surprise cameos, and on-air insults. Neither man has let the joke drop.