A gag that began in 2003 when Jimmy Kimmel Live was having a tough time getting bigger Hollywood stars as guests, the actor began being “booked” daily on the show as a joke. Eventually, Damon made the joke more real — the actor actually started showing up, only to be comically cut off by the show’s limited run time.
“Apologies to Matt Damon,” Kimmel has been heard uttering countless times over the years, “we ran out of time.”
That gag has now lasted over a decade, with a disgruntled Damon even going so far as to kidnap Kimmel and take over an entire episode of the show.
In 2011, Damon even released a song with Kimmel’s then-girlfriend Sarah Silverman, entitled I’m F***ing Matt Damon. The Kimmel/Damon relationship spiraled downhill from there.
Now, though, it appears the pair are taking steps to remedy their longstanding feud. This week, Kimmel revealed that he and Damon are in couples therapy together, before showing an almost 10 minute clip of the pair hilariously attempting to put aside their differences. Needless to say, it was a bit rough.
“He’s verbally abusive to me and couches it as truth,” said Damon during the filmed session, before revealing that he actually now lives in a dressing room in the studio’s basement, “I am excited to come out every night.”
“I am angry that he is angry,” said Kimmel, “I do my best to get him on the show every night.”
At the beginning of the clip Damon storms onto Kimmel’s show dressed as Kimmel Live guest Dr. Phil, attempting to hide his identity behind a thick accent and such Phil-isms as, “Put it right on a horn frog and call it a unicorn, but that don’t mean you’re gonna get a bingo.” That probably set the therapy back a few sessions.
That said, for the long “feuding” duo, some hope of reconciliation does remain. Asked by their therapist to say something nice about one another, the pair did have some positive things to share.
“I like some of his friends … You know, Ben [Affleck],” said Kimmel.
Damon’s response hit closer to Kimmel’s heart, saying, “To be fair, I like his show. I wouldn’t have waited for 12 years to get on if I didn’t like his show.”
It’s anyone’s guess where the star-studded relationship goes from here, but given that they have been entangled in comical controversy for this long, it’s probably going to take a lot more unraveling to make things right — it’s such a good gag, why stop now?
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