• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & EntertainmentJimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel Hopes to Never Host the ‘Nightmare’ Oscars Again

By
Stacey Wilson Hunt
Stacey Wilson Hunt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stacey Wilson Hunt
Stacey Wilson Hunt
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 5, 2019, 2:18 PM ET
Jimmy Kimmel
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE - "Jimmy Kimmel Live" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. EST and features a diverse lineup of guests that includes celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human-interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Wednesday, May 24 included Zac Efron ("Baywatch"), Connie Nielsen ("Wonder Woman") and musical guest Zac Brown Band. (Randy Holmes/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) Randy Holmes/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

ABC’s Emmy-nominated late-night host came clean Monday morning with a few frank thoughts on Hollywood’s worst emcee gig.

“I hosted the Oscars twice and I think that’s enough,” Kimmel said to a packed house inside the Beverly Hilton Hotel, kicking off ABC’s presentations at the Television Critics Association press tour. “It’s a no-win, very difficult job. Even when it seems like it was great, you go home and find out some people didn’t think it was great. For someone like me who cares what people think, it’s kind of a fucking nightmare.”

Kimmel addressed a myriad other timely issues, including the role late-night hosts should have in addressing tragedies in the news, such as the recent horrific spate of mass shootings. “There is an expectation that late night address these horrible things—I wish we didn’t have to,” he said. “But nobody is doing anything about [gun violence] at all. Four days later, we forget. I don’t have any thoughts that are new or groundbreaking, but it’s [worth reminding] people that 97% of Americans believe we should have background checks and our politicians don’t seem to care about what we think.”

The host, who earned Emmy nominations this year for outstanding variety talk series and variety special for Live in Front of a Studio Audience (of which Kimmel promises more installments later this year), also addressed how he’s worked to increase the diversity of his writers-room from “mostly my friends and cousins” to emerging voices he and his staff find from sources like Twitter.

He then tackled politics’ overarching role in the late-night landscape and the expectation of the late-night host to serve as political commentator. “I don’t know what alternative there is when you watch news all day. How do you walk onstage and ignore it? It takes a lot out me—it’s not fun. But I think when people watch late night, they feel they know you. They want to know what you think, in the same way you interact with your friends.”            

Speaking of politics, Kimmel fielded numerous questions about his own possible run for office someday (“Never… I couldn’t even handle coaching my son’s basketball team”) and his just-announced partnership with Apprentice super-producer Mark Burnett on a forthcoming game show. “Will I remind him 15 times a day that Trump is president because of him? Yes I will,” promised Kimmel.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—Women creators are stealing the spotlight on TV

—TV shows to watch in August: from GLOW to Succession and more

—Disney dominates, plus other takeaways from the summer 2019 box office so far

—Inside Danny Trejo’s journey from ex-con character actor to taco mogul

—Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily

Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.

About the Author
By Stacey Wilson Hunt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Several pictures of people receiving medical treatments including a facelift and oxygen therapy.
HealthSuper Bowl
Hims and Hers Super Bowl ad highlights ‘uncomfortable truth’ about elite healthcare for the rich and ‘broken’ system for the rest
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago
Travel & LeisureLas Vegas
Old-school Las Vegas buffets with cheap eats are disappearing, replaced by ‘luxury’ options, trendy food halls, and celebrity chef restaurants
By Jessica Hill and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
17 hours ago
o'hara
Arts & EntertainmentObituary
How Catherine O’Hara went from Gilda Radner’s understudy to cultural icon with her own language as Moira Rose
By Lindsey Bahr and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
20 hours ago
phil
LawHolidays
‘But seriously, this is not a serious thing’: Groundhog Day made Punxsutawney famous but locals have perspective
By Mark Scolforo and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
20 hours ago
Netflix
Big TechMarkets
Netflix may be turning into an ‘entertainment giant,’ but its stock looks like ‘dead money’ to investors
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 31, 2026
23 hours ago
Gamestop
Big TechGameStop
Five years after the short squeeze, GameStop’s CEO is betting on a ‘genius or totally foolish’ $100 billion-plus acquisition
By Jake AngeloJanuary 30, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Right before Trump named Warsh to lead the Fed, Powell seemed to respond to some of his biggest complaints about the central bank
By Jason MaJanuary 30, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Friday, January 30, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJanuary 30, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.