Jimmy Kimmel reveals the joke he regrets apologizing for: 'For the good of the Disney company, I took that bullet'

Leigh BlickleyMon, June 1, 2026 at 4:50 PM UTC

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Jimmy Kimmel in May
Credit: Emma McIntyre/GettyKey Points -

Jimmy Kimmel says there's one joke he regrets apologizing for.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host aired a "Kids' Table" sketch in 2013 that featured racially insensitive comments.

Kimmel says he doesn't like to be "micromanaged" by executives.

Jimmy Kimmel doesn't like to be "micromanaged."

In an interview published Monday on Vulture, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host recognized how sexist remarks and shock-value jokes early in his career crossed a line. But although he's willing to apologize for some jokes, Kimmel also doesn't want to feel like he can't trust himself nowadays.

Kimmel told Vulture that he regrets apologizing for a 2013 "Kids' Table" sketch in which he played along after a 6-year-old suggested we "kill everyone in China" as a solution to the national debt crisis.

"For the good of the Disney company, I took that bullet," he said of being persuaded to apologize for the bit.

In the now-deleted segment, Kimmel revisited the child's suggestion and asked a raucous bunch of kids, "Should we allow the Chinese to live?" The table erupted in "Yes!" except for the aforementioned child, who insisted, "No!" A small debate ensued over the proposed genocide.

Kimmel wrapped up the piece by calling this "Kids' Table" the Lord of the Flies edition.

Following the video's release, over 75,000 people signed a White House petition calling for an investigation, likening the language used in the video to Nazi Germany's attacks on Jews. Protests popped up outside Kimmel's Hollywood studio, with some participants holding signs of the host with a Hitler mustache.

Kimmel reportedly stepped outside to apologize to protesters face to face: "If I upset you, I'm very, very sorry. I did not mean to upset you."

"I feel like we made a mistake putting it on the air," he said, according to Los Angeles TV station KTLA. He then addressed news cameras inside the El Capitan Theatre, "I feel bad you did not take it as a joke."

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ABC also sent out a formal apology at the time.

"We would never purposefully broadcast anything to upset the Chinese community, Asian community, anyone of Chinese descent or any community at large... our objective is to entertain," ABC executives said in a statement.

Jimmy Kimmel on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in May
Credit: Disney/Randy Holmes

Kimmel told Vulture on Monday that he feels he shouldn't be persuaded to address something he doesn't believe is wrong. Following controversial comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination in September, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended and a debate about free speech erupted online. President Donald Trump blamed Kimmel and his bad ratings for the suspension, while others maintained he should not be censored.

"One of the things we talked about when I first got suspended was that I can’t do this show if I’m going to be micromanaged," Kimmel told Vulture. He added that in spats with Trump following his suspension, like the recent one in which Kimmel said the first lady Melania Trump looked like "an expectant widow," Disney’s only guidance is that he should "respond and move on."

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Kimmel's future seems more uncertain than ever following The Late Show With Stephen Colbert's demise at CBS. In December 2025, Kimmel's contract with Disney was extended for one more year. Although he's typically offered three-year renewals, Kimmel said he understands a year-by-year late-night show extension, because "everything is so tumultuous."

"That seemed to make sense," he said of the contract. "It’s definitely not how it’s gone in the past."

Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.

on Entertainment Weekly

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