The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” joins Stephen for a three-part interview that begins with a blow-by-blow recap of what happened the day Jimmy found out ABC was pulling him off the air.
During Tuesday night’s episode of The Late Show, Colbert first asked Kimmel to recall how he initially learned his show was “indefinitely” suspended, which he called an “emotional roller coaster” and “very strange” experience. Jimmy Kimmel Live! has since returned to broadcast on Sept. 23.
Kimmel recalled his wife telling him that he looked whiter than actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan when he walked out of the meeting, because “I thought that it’s over. I was like, I’m never coming back on the air.”
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host also noted that it was even more complicated because his whole audience was already in their seats for the show that night. They also had chef Christian Petroni scheduled for that episode, “who was making meatballs and polenta that night. He’d been cooking all day,” as well as musician Howard Jones taping a performance.