Let me start by saying I am a fan of Jimmy Kimmel and have been from the very first Kimmel broadcast (it started a few hours after ABC aired the Bucs-Raiders Super Bowl XXXVII [shoutout Jon Gruden] on January 26, 2003).
I believe Mr. Kimmel has the right to free speech, and he is allowed to speak his beliefs as much as anyone (even the deceased guy his comment involved). He said nothing worthy of suspension, let alone the “cancelled” and “fired” bullshit many on the right were repeating, including youknowwho…
Employing one’s free speech and commentary was a strength of the country I grew up in, not a failure or weakness.
I was texting with my brother and sister, talking about Mr. Kimmel’s reinstatement. I thought I remembered something about a “drinking with guests live” experiment, but I wasn’t sure. (Was the failed experiment a one-time, inconsequential kind of thing that made it long-forgotten? Or, I wondered, was the story not so well-known?) Neither of my siblings remembered ever hearing about it, even though they both claimed to be big Kimmel fans.
Well, after talking to AI and doing a little Googling, I found out why my memory was foggy, and why the controversy was possibly buried by time: Kimmel’s incident happened a long 22 years ago! AND, the on-air drinking experiment only happened once.
There is a reason the outspoken, funny, involved, aware, comedic, and entertaining host survived that opening show hiccup. It’s because Jimmy excels at being himself and telling the world things about the things that mattered to him. And he has done so about 160 times a year (give or take) for 22 freakin’ years!
It does not seem that long, but jeez, that’s a third of my life!
As his show’s producer said to CBS News back in 2003: “It [the drinking show] gives us some stature in terms of people thinking this is a different show and not a conventional talk show,” [exec producer] Kellison said. “Honestly, what we want to do is create a place where the young audience and young talent feel like this is a fun place to come.”
I hope Jimmy keeps his “fun place to come” broadcast for as long as he is able and wants to do it. (Networks, serve the people!)
Here’s a look at the brief conversation I had with AI to confirm what I thought I remembered:
My question: Can you find an old advertising/media industry story about Jimmy Kimmel and guests drinking alcohol while on his show when it first aired? What was the industry fallback? Wasn’t it “no more drinking”?
AI response:
In the early days of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, there was a notable incident involving alcohol use on the show that led to a swift response from the network.
During the show’s premiere, which aired after the Super Bowl in January 2003, Kimmel and his guests, including George Clooney and Snoop Dogg, engaged in on-air drinking. Clooney was seen passing around a bottle of vodka, and the show’s set even featured a working bar that served drinks to audience members. This led to a “boisterous” atmosphere, and at least one audience member reportedly vomited.
The media and advertising industry’s immediate fallback was “no more drinking” on the show. ABC quickly put a stop to the practice, closing down the on-set bar and shutting down the serving of alcohol to the audience.
The network’s official reason was that they were “not comfortable with the systems in place for serving wine and beer.” While the show’s executive producer, Daniel Kellison, reportedly said they were fine with the decision, it’s clear that the combination of on-air drinking by guests, the presence of an open bar for the audience, and the resulting chaotic behavior was a public relations risk for the network and its advertisers. The incident created a memorable, and somewhat controversial, start to Kimmel’s long-running late-night show.
My question: Sources for that info, please.
AI response:
The information provided in my previous answer comes from reports published shortly after the premiere of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003.
Here are the sources for that information:
- The Premiere and Drinking: Multiple news outlets, including CBS News, reported on the January 2003 premiere, noting that guests like George Clooney were pouring vodka, and that a bar was serving drinks to the audience. This chaotic atmosphere included reports of an audience member getting sick.
- The Network’s Response: ABC quickly shut down the practice. An ABC spokesperson, Kevin Brockman, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “We were not comfortable with the systems in place for serving wine and beer.”
- The Show’s Producer’s View: The show’s executive producer, Daniel Kellison, acknowledged the network’s decision, stating, “They just said `let’s chill out on it and take it away for now,’ and we said fine. We have bigger fish to fry.” This quote was also widely reported at the time.
This incident, and the swift “no more drinking” policy that followed, became a well-known story in the history of late-night television.
[I need to look for sources other than CBS! I didn’t notice the citations were all attributed to that sole news source until doing the screencap shown here:]
