Late night television viewers got one heck of a surprise when they tuned in to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday night, both of which happened to fall on April Fools’ Day. The two agreeable hosts, who are often mistaken for one another (my mother doesn’t even bother trying anymore), pulled an epic switcheroo, trading places despite working on different networks, living 3,000 miles away, and, you know, being competitors.
Jimmy Kimmel, who tapes his show out of the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood, appeared in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza, where the studio audience was expecting to see Jimmy Fallon. As part of his opening monologue, he discussed how he and his colleague are often mistaken for one another, then cut to a pre-recorded bit of the two of them. The cherry on top was a voice appearance from David Letterman telling them both to buzz off.
When Fallon came out to enormous applause in Hollywood, he asked the crowd to please settle down, saying “you’re gonna’ offend the other Jimmy.” After explaining their gag, he admitted that this was “a distant second” for surprises on ABC this week, a reference to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars. After some yuks about being on “a Disney network” the two Jimmys communicated live, and immediately began hurling zings.
“A big chunk of your audience almost left when I walked out” Kimmel joked to Fallon.
Fallon then showed footage of fans thinking they would meet one Jimmy but getting surprised with an appearance by both. (Alas, no one said, “I’m seeing double, here: four Jimmys!”)
Kimmel’s guests in New York (so, technically, Fallon’s guests, if you want to get philosophical about this) included Hugh Jackman and Bridget Everett. Fallon’s guests in Los Angeles included Justin Timberlake and Kimmel’s Aunt Chippy.
Timberlake decided to make things even more confusing by appearing as Fallon’s pretend nemesis, Matt Damon. Dunkin’ jokes ensued.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Vanity Fair