Jimmy Kimmel made a triumphant return to late night hosting Tuesday, ending a week of universal outrage. Outrage from free speech advocates, outrage from wannabe dictators, and outrage from Disney executives as the subscription cancellations increased to a pile greater than Scrooge McDuck’s mountain of gold coins. All those cancellations were from citizens taking a moral/constitutional stand, as we hadn’t heard yet about the new price hikes! But Disney should be pleased with their return on investment, because the numbers are in for Kimmel’s return show and they are impressive: while Jimmy Kimmel Live! typically hovers around 1.5 million viewers per show, they garnered a whopping 6.26 million on Tuesday. And remember, Nexstar and Sinclair-owned affiliates still didn’t run Kimmel on about 23% of channels, yet Kimmel’s audience quadrupled. Bravo!
As for the content those 6.26 million viewers tuned in for, it was worthy of all that attention. Kimmel’s tone was impassioned without being preachy and emotional without being sappy. And throughout it all, there was humor. Not gonna lie, the joke at the top of the show nearly did me in — the bit where after playing serious news clips about the historical significance of Kimmel’s return with the show to come, the cameras cut to Kimmel and Guillermo in costumes, bear and banana, respectively. It was stupid and silly and made me utter a much-needed deep guffaw. While it served as an ice-breaker, there was no denying the importance of this episode. Not every celebrity guest could walk on to that stage on that night, but Glen Powell did it with aplomb. And Kimmel certainly made him feel at ease, asking early on about Powell’s family. Namely, the kangaroo and monkey sides:
Kimmel: Part of your family is a kangaroo and a monkey. Charlie the monkey and Trixie the kangaroo. Are they allowed in the house?
Powell: Yes. They have better setups than most humans.
Kimmel: Do they come to family celebrations?
Powell: Well, my little sister just got married. I think a lot of people weren’t expecting to see a kangaroo running around at four in the morning, in the house.
Kimmel: And what about the monkey? Is the monkey at the wedding?
Powell: Not a fan of love. No.
[From Jimmy Kimmel Live! via YouTube]
“Do they come to family celebrations?” What kind of a question is that, Jimmy?! They’re family, of course they’re coming to the family celebrations!! I fondly remember my aunt’s wedding where her pooch (begrudgingly) wore a fetching kerchief that said “Dog of Honor.” But if you need proof, check out Glen’s sister’s Instagram carousel of pics from her wedding day; many shots of humans crowded together, but Trixie the kangaroo gets her own slide. Priceless. Trixie, by the way, is stunning. A real knockout. (I just hope not literally, given that the boxing kangaroos are usually males?) And according to Glen, Charlie the capuchin monkey officially belongs to his Aunt Honey. My question is: how does Brisket get along with his extended family?
Business-wise, Glen was there to promote Chad Powers, the comedy series he created with Eli Manning, which debuts September 30 on Hulu (a Disney-owned network, like Kimmel-airer ABC). Another Hulu project got a shoutout on Tuesday as well, Sarah McLachlan’s documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (available to stream now). Sarah was the musical guest, which was a lovely close to the show after Sarah stood in solidarity with Jimmy over the weekend.
Photos credit: Backgrid, Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon, Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com
Man, the pets allowed in Texas are wild. I would never want to own a pet that requires a permit, just because the headache to do so would be more than I want to deal with. And finding a vet would be a nightmare.
Yeah, I like Glen (Hitman is a great film!) but this all feels very Joe Exotic to me.
Kangaroos and monkeys SHOULD NOT BE PETS. I am livid about this. It is not cute Kismet.
It’s just plain a cruelty to imprison a wild animal as a pet.
I was so happy Sarah McLaughlin got to take part in that ratings bonanza – she is the real deal when it comes to fighting for progressive causes. I can’t wait to watch her Lilith Fair doc.
Just say no, to wild animals as pets!
Agreed, these are wild animals not domesticated ones, leave them be.
Totally agree…
They are not play things or novelties for anyone’s fleeting amusement. This is not something to encourage at all.
Second what SarahCS has said “leave them be”
Isn’t that a Wallaby?
Aussie Aussie Aussie
from what I recall from a previous interview, his family basically animal-rescued those animals after they were taken into care from bad owners but that couldn’t be rehomed in the wild or in zoos. It’s to honour his grandfather who I believe was a vet at a zoo in Texas. Their ranch has space and ability to let them live out their days in peace, so they took them.
That’s nice to know!
“Ringo” is a ring tailed lemur. Lemurs are among the most endangered animals on the planet and should not be pets.
Owning wild animals is ignorant and cruel. They are showing a complete disregard for the welfare of those animals. How many monkeys were killed to get that baby? Disgustingly out of touch.