The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host and Matt have been publicly sparring for two decades, including several gags, surprise TV appearances, and even Sarah Silverman

att Damon made his pilgrimage once again to Jimmy Kimmel Live! to rip on the late night host soon after his return to the airwaves. Jimmy Kimmel and his popular show were “yanked” from the air suddenly following his comments about Charlie Kirk, and after a wave of backlash and discourse, it eventually returned, bigger and better than ever. Jimmy’s comeback monologue alone proved to be a ratings smash. And nearly two weeks after returning, at the end of his annual week of shows in Brooklyn, his nemesis was back too.

On the October 3 episode of his show, Jimmy, 57, was heckled by someone dressed as Frankie Focus, a neon green furry monster who is seen as a mascot for the phone ban in New York City schools. However, when the mascot began heckling the host, he realized who was in the costume, even calling Matt, 54, after he took off his mask a “hot green sewer Labubu.”

“I wore this costume because this is the last chance to get on the show,” the Oppenheimer star joked, referencing his brief cancellation and the comments against him courtesy of President Donald Trump as well. “I know we’ve had our differences over the years, but I wanted to be here tonight for your last show ever.”

Read on for a full timeline of their public “feud,” how it all began, the other celebrities they’ve gotten into the fray, and how real any of it even is…

You may also like

© Getty Images

2005: “Apologies to Matt Damon”

It all began in 2005, during a December episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, when the host ended his episode with: “Apologies to Matt Damon, but we ran out of time,” as a joke, despite the actor not being scheduled to appear on the show. A year later, Matt finally did make an appearance, with Jimmy making a lengthy introduction before quickly cutting him off and ending the show. Matt walked off hurling a flurry of insults, all pre-planned but convincing enough that many viewers believed it to be true.

© Getty Images

2007: “I’m [Expletive] Matt Damon”

In 2007, when the Air actor returned to the show, he instead sent over comedian Sarah Silverman, who had been dating Jimmy at the time. She then played a video titled “I’m [Expletive] Matt Damon,” joking that the two had a sexual relationship. The video went viral, even winning a Creative Arts Emmy. Jimmy responded with his own video, “I’m [Expletive] Ben Affleck,” with Matt’s best friend Ben Affleck, even bringing in celebrities like Harrison Ford, Don Cheadle, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, and many more.

© Getty Images

2015: Couple’s Counseling

Their feud continued well into the 2010s, with the Good Will Hunting actor continuing to make appearances on the show and get short-changed by Jimmy (such as being given a tiny chair compared to his The Monuments Men co-stars) while also turning the tables on occasion (having Matt host a 2013 episode while Jimmy was gagged and bound to a chair behind him).

During a 2015 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the pair jokingly took a couple’s counseling session to hash out their differences and “resolve their issues,” although to no avail. Jimmy even ended the episode as usual with “Apologies to Matt Damon, but we ran out of time.”

© Getty Images

2017-2024: The Oscars

The running gags continued as far as the Academy Awards, especially in 2017, 2023, and 2024, which were the years Jimmy hosted. The first time, he mentioned during his press cycle that he strongly did not want Matt to win Best Picture as a producer for Manchester By the Sea, and when Matt and Ben appeared as presenters for Best Original Screenplay, he introduced him as Ben’s “guest.”

In 2023, he simply noted being “thrilled” that the actor won’t attend, adding: “I hope he never gets nominated again.” And in 2024, when his character in Oppenheimer made an appearance, he called him a “poor, incredibly hideous, disgusting, ugly man” and ended the show with a segment of Messi the dog urinating on Matt’s star on the Walk of Fame.

© ABC/Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2025: “Wanted to say goodbye”

Things came back up again on October 3, 2025’s show of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, when the audience began cheering for Matt once he took off his costume, and Jimmy told the crowd: “Stop cheering for him. This is breaking and entering — again. You’ve done this before.” Matt explained he was there because he “just wanted to say goodbye.”

When the host explained that his suspension was only temporary, Matt quipped: “But the president canceled you, which I was a big fan of by the way,” adding: “When he said you had like zero ratings and no talent, I was like, ‘I’ve been saying that for years!’”

© Getty Images

Are they really rivals?

It is showbiz, after all, and while Jimmy and Matt never really speak highly of each other (much), they’ve made it clear that they have deep love and respect for each other as friends. In 2013, Matt attended Jimmy’s wedding to Molly McNearney, and that same year, Jimmy officiated Matt and his wife Luciana Barroso’s 10-year anniversary vow renewal.

In 2023, Jimmy mentioned that during the WGA strikes, Ben and Matt had reached out to him and offered to pay his staff two weeks’ worth of pay out of their own pockets, with the host dubbing them “good people” although he revealed that he had turned them down because it was “not their responsibility.”