If you thought Jimmy Kimmel's ongoing "feud" with Matt Damon was just for laughs, his latest interview proves it might have gotten way too real.
During a wild and unexpectedly candid interview, the late-night host revealed that Damon once had a terrifying choking scare inside his house that nearly turned into a disaster.
However, that wasn't the only thing Kimmel had to get off his chest as he also shut down rumors about Stephen Colbert's finances and preached the survival of late-night TV.
Matt Damon's Rib Dinner Went Terribly Wrong
During an interview with Variety, Jimmy Kimmel didn't waste any time diving into the now-infamous pork rib incident.
According to the famed host, Damon showed up late to a casual dinner at Kimmel's home feeling famished, and immediately started shoveling food down. Within minutes, things took a sharp turn.
Damon began choking on a piece of rib that was lodged deep in his throat, and to Kimmel's horror, it wouldn't budge.
"It was stuck in his throat for about an hour and a half," he admitted.
The comedian quickly panicked and started thinking about the headlines and jail time that could follow.
"If he dies in my house, I'm going to prison for the rest of my life. I will never be able to explain this as anything other than a murder," Kimmel thought to himself, convinced no one would believe it was just an accident.
Jimmy Kimmel Says Bread Saved Matt Damon's Life
The situation got so tense that Kimmel considered rushing Damon to the hospital.
Several Heimlich attempts failed, and desperation kicked in.
Kimmel, Damon, and his brother even resorted to frantically searching YouTube for solutions. After trying almost everything, they finally settled on an unlikely cure: bread.
They slowly fed Damon small bites of bread in the hope that it would force the rib down, and unbelievably, it worked.
"Bread saved him," the comedian shared.
Jimmy Kimmel Defends Stephen Colbert From 'Nonsensical' Financial Rumors
Besides the Matt Damon story, Kimmel also reacted to reports that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has been losing $40 million a year.
The host said he's tired of people spreading misinformation about late-night shows without bothering to understand how the industry actually makes money.
He slammed the rumors as "beyond nonsensical" and said the people pushing those numbers clearly don't understand affiliate fees, which he claims bring in "hundreds of millions" that are tied directly to late-night programming.
"There's just not a snowball's chance in hell that that's anywhere near accurate," Kimmel argued, insisting that stories like this are great clickbait but detached from reality.
Jimmy Kimmel Insists Late-Night TV Isn't Dying
Kimmel also addressed the wider narrative that late-night TV is on its last legs.
While he admitted that network television is declining, he pushed back hard on the idea that viewers aren't watching shows like his anymore.
Those days might be gone where everyone tuned in live, but the demand hasn't disappeared, but only just shifted to digital platforms. To back up his point, Kimmel rattled off the kinds of numbers people don't normally see.
For example, his own monologues routinely pull in between two and five million views online, Seth Meyers sees similar numbers on YouTube alone, and Jon Stewart occasionally crosses five million.
Putting all of that together, Kimmel said, "I think if you really look at how people are watching these shows, and the numbers, it's right up there with the top shows on Netflix and Hulu. Yet in the media, you'd think this is a rotting corpse, which it most certainly is not."
Kimmel Praises Stephen Colbert And Calls for Solidarity Among Hosts
Despite all the chaos, there was a moment of genuine admiration from Jimmy Kimmel when talking about Stephen Colbert.
He revealed that he actually put up a billboard stating he is voting for Colbert at the Emmys and said he truly means it.
Kimmel described Colbert as "a very ethical person" and "the salt of the earth," and said it would be "a nice statement" if he won this year.
Kimmel also opened up about how close he has become with other late-night hosts, especially after the writers' strike.
They now keep in touch through a constant text thread where they swap ideas, reactions, and occasionally even political frustrations.