Jimmy Kimmel grew emotional while thanking viewers during the final 2025 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, reflecting that it had been a “strange and hard year.”
During Thursday’s (December 18) opening monologue, the late-night host told his studio audience, “This has been a strange year. It’s been a hard year. We’ve had some lows, we’ve had some highs. For me, maybe more than any year of my life.”
As he choked back tears, Kimmel said, “I’m crying already, I’m sorry.”
“On behalf of all of us at the show, I just want to say that we appreciate your support, your enthusiasm, and not just for watching… this year, you literally pulled us out of a hole, and we cannot thank you enough personally,” he continued.
This has certainly been a tumultuous year for the late-night show, which was temporarily yanked off the air in September following backlash to comments Kimmel made about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The suspension came after Donald Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued thinly-veiled threats, leading network affiliates to refuse to air the show.
The suspension was lifted less than a week later amid outrage from ABC viewers, many of whom called the show’s removal an attack on free speech. Despite Kimmel’s return to late-night, Trump continued to insult the host on social media and call for ABC to cancel the show.
In addition to the suspension drama, Kimmel also lost his best friend and the show’s band leader, Cleto Escobedo III, who passed away in November following liver transplant complications. Kimmel delivered an emotional tribute to his friend on the show.
“I know there are a lot harder jobs, but this is not an easy job to do, and sometimes it feels like we’re spinning our wheels, you see so many awful and destructive acts… it can make you feel crazy trying to wrap your head around these things that are so clearly wrong,” he continued in Thursday’s monologue.
“But when I hear from people who tell me that they watch our show, and the shows that my friends and colleagues do on the other channels, and that it makes them feel less crazy, it makes me feel less crazy too,” Kimmel stated. “And I think that’s an important thing.”
He also said it’s important that “as Americans we let our friends in other countries… know that a lot of us are not OK with what is happening.“
“There is still much more good in this country than bad,” Kimmel told his international viewers. “And we hope that you will bear with us during this extended psychotic episode that we’re in the middle of.”
You can watch Kimmel’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC
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