If you’ve watched late-night TV or the Oscars in the last twenty years, you’ve seen it. Jimmy Kimmel finishes a segment, looks dead into the camera with a straight face, and says, "My apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time."
He’s been saying it since 2005. Every. Single. Night.
It feels personal. It sounds like there’s some deep-seated Hollywood grudge involving a stolen role or a messy breakup. People genuinely search "why does jimmy kimmel dislike matt damon" because the commitment to the bit is so intense it blurs the line between a joke and a restraining order.
But here is the truth: It’s the longest-running, most elaborate "fake" feud in entertainment history. They don't actually hate each other. In fact, they’re basically best friends.
The Night a Throwaway Joke Changed Everything
It started on a Tuesday night in December 2005. Kimmel’s show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was still in its awkward toddler phase. The ratings weren't great. The guests that night were, by Jimmy's own admission, not exactly A-list material.
Kimmel felt like the show had been a bit of a train wreck. To amuse his producer, he decided to end the broadcast by apologizing to a massive star who "didn't make it on"—even though that star hadn't even been booked.
He chose Matt Damon.
Why Damon? Because he was the ultimate "un-bumpable" star. At the time, Damon was coming off the Bourne movies and was arguably the biggest actor on the planet. The idea that a struggling late-night show would make Matt Damon wait backstage only to kick him out at the last second was objectively hilarious.
"Matt Damon was just the first name that popped into my head," Kimmel told NPR years later. "I was trying to think of an A-list star, and somebody we absolutely would not bump if he was on the show."
The producer laughed. So Jimmy did it again the next night. And the night after that.
When Matt Finally "Showed Up" (And Lost It)
For about a year, the joke was one-sided. Matt Damon didn't even know who Jimmy Kimmel was. He started getting calls from friends asking, "What did you do to this guy?"
Finally, in 2006, Damon actually appeared on the show for a primetime special. This was the moment fans realized this wasn't just a random jab; it was a partnership. Jimmy introduced Matt with an absurdly long, rambling montage of his career. By the time Matt sat down to speak, the "Wrap It Up" music started playing.
Jimmy looked at him and said, "Sorry, we’re out of time."
👉 See also: Khloe Kardashian is how tall: What Most People Get Wrong
Damon went into a full-blown, F-bomb-laden tirade. He stormed off. He threw things. It looked real. That was the secret sauce. Damon is an Oscar-winning actor, and he plays the "slighted celebrity" role with terrifying conviction.
The Escalation: From Music Videos to Kidnappings
The "feud" reached legendary status in 2008 thanks to Sarah Silverman, who was dating Kimmel at the time. She appeared on the show to present a "surprise" for Jimmy: a music video titled "I’m F***ing Matt Damon."
It went viral before "going viral" was even a standard term.
Jimmy responded a few weeks later with "I’m F***ing Ben Affleck," enlisting Damon’s real-life best friend to get revenge. Since then, the two have turned this into a high-art form of pranking.
- The Takeover (2013): Matt Damon literally tied Jimmy to a chair, gagged him, and hosted the entire show himself. He renamed it Jimmy Kimmel Sucks! and brought on Sheryl Crow as his bandleader.
- The "Couch" Therapy (2015): The two attended a filmed couples' counseling session to "work through their issues." It ended with Jimmy bumping him from the session.
- The Ben Affleck Smuggle (2016): During an interview with Ben Affleck, Kimmel noticed Ben looked unusually bulky. He forced Ben to open his coat, and Matt Damon was strapped to Ben’s chest, trying to sneak onto the set.
- The 2024 Oscars: Even two decades later, the bit hasn't died. During the 96th Academy Awards, Kimmel featured a segment where Messi (the dog from Anatomy of a Fall) appeared to urinate on Matt Damon's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Is There Any Real Animosity?
Honestly? None.
If you look past the scripted insults, you see two guys who are deeply involved in each other's lives. In 2013, Matt Damon was a guest at Jimmy’s wedding to Molly McNearney. That same year, Jimmy officiated the vow renewal for Matt and his wife, Luciana.
When Jimmy’s son, Billy, had to undergo heart surgery shortly after birth, Matt was one of the first people to reach out. Jimmy later joked on air, "I hate to even say it, but even that son-of-a-bitch Matt Damon sent flowers."
During the 2023 Hollywood strikes, Kimmel revealed that Damon and Affleck offered to pay his staff's salaries out of their own pockets for two weeks. He turned them down, but it proved the point: the "dislike" is 100% pure entertainment.
Why It Still Works in 2026
Most late-night bits get old after three weeks. This one has lasted twenty years.
It works because of the contrast. Matt Damon is a serious, prestigious actor. Jimmy Kimmel is a sarcastic, everyman comedian. Watching them act like petty schoolboys over a 2005 scheduling error is the kind of low-stakes drama that people find comforting.
The feud has become a brand. It’s a shorthand for their friendship. When you see Matt Damon pop up in a disguise on Kimmel, you know you’re in on the joke.
What to Watch for Next
The best way to enjoy this "feud" is to watch the historical highlights. If you want to see the evolution of the bit, search for these specific clips:
- "I'm Fing Matt Damon"* (The 2008 viral video).
- "The Handsome Men's Club" (Where Matt gets Jimmy kicked out of a club for being too ugly).
- "Matt Damon Kidnaps Jimmy Kimmel" (The full episode takeover).
Next time you see Jimmy Kimmel "bump" Matt Damon from a segment, just remember: it's not about hate. It's about a twenty-year-old joke that neither of them is willing to let die—and honestly, we don't want them to.
Actionable Insight: If you're looking for more behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories, check out Jimmy Kimmel's "Strike Force Five" podcast episodes where he discusses his real-life relationships with other late-night hosts. It gives a rare, unscripted look at how these celebrity friendships actually function when the cameras are off.