Late night maestro Jimmy Kimmel got emotional while reflecting on the difficult year he and his show endured during the final Jimmy Kimmel Live show of 2025, shedding some tears as he gave his opening monologue.
"Thank you for joining us here at our home in beautiful Hollywood, California, for what is our final show of the year," the host began on Thursday, December 18. "And this one, this has been a strange year. It's been a hard year."
He got a little choked up, but continued, "We’ve had some lows. We've had some highs. For me, maybe more than any year in my life. But on behalf of all of us — I'm crying already. I'm sorry."
After collecting himself, Kimmel added: "On behalf of all of us at the show, I just want to say that we appreciate your support, your enthusiasm," he said. "And not just for watching this year — you literally pulled us out of a hole, and we cannot thank you enough, personally."
Kimmel has had a rollercoaster 2025. ABC temporarily took Kimmel’s program off the air for a week back in September following his comments about the killing of right-wing political personality Charlie Kirk. The network’s decision made way for a national debate on freedom of speech, which prompted Disney, which ownss ABC, to reverse the decision.
Since then, and even prior, in the wake of the shocking cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert earlier this year, President Donald Trump has repeatedly made insulting comments about Kimmel and his show, as well as called for Live to be cancelled.
During his final opening of the year, the host noted that "there are a lot harder jobs" than his, but that "this is not an easy job to do, and sometimes it feels like we're spinning our wheels." He added: "You see so many awful and destructive acts, all this damage we inflict on ourselves, on purpose, and it can make you feel crazy trying to wrap your head around these things that are so clearly wrong."
Kimmel’s show will return in January to kick off 2026. Perhaps Kate Beckinsale will return to give us an update on her daughter's boyfriend's eggs?
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
