Photo: Randy Holmes/ABC
Matt Damon dropped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! Friday, turning final night of Kimmel’s week of shows in Brooklyn into the latest chapter of their long-running faux feud.
Taking the stage disguised as “Frankie Focus,” New York’s furry neon-green mascot created to promote the state’s ban on smartphones in schools, Damon was exposed after he lobbed a series of insults at Kimmel — calling him “dumb” and saying he looked like “they dragged Jimmy Fallon out of the Gowanus Canal.” When Kimmel demanded the mascot remove its head, Damon revealed himself to loud cheers from the Brooklyn audience.
From there, the exchange spiraled into familiar territory. Damon told Kimmel he’d only come to “say goodbye” to Kimmel on his “last show ever,” only to be quickly corrected by Kimmel, who informed him that ABC ended up not cancelling his late-night franchise.
“The president cancelled you—which I was a big fan of, by the way!” Damon responded, going on to ask if there was “some kind of appeals process.”
The appearance marked another entry in a 23-year back-and-forth that started in 2005 when Kimmel began signing off his show with the line, “Apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time.
” Since then, the gag has spawned a long line of surprise cameos, viral videos—including Sarah Silverman’s Emmy-winning “I’m F***ing Matt Damon”—and even Oscar-night barbs. In July, the two sparred again during Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, with Damon and Ken Jennings walking away with $1 million for charity.
Televised insults and mock grudges aside, Damon and Kimmel are in fact close friends—Damon attended Kimmel’s wedding in 2013, and the pair have often been spotted together off-camera.
