Although he's moved by the two actors' generous offer, the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' host says he decided to reject it because he 'felt that that was not their responsibility.'
- Sep 1, 2023
AceShowbiz - Jimmy Kimmel has revealed Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's kind gesture. On his newly-launched "Strike Force Five" podcast, which he co-hosts with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host revealed that the "Good Will Hunting" actors offered to pay late-night staffers amid strikes.
"Ben Affleck and the despicable Matt Damon contacted me and offered to pay our staff for two weeks, a week each," the 55-year-old divulged in the premier episode of the podcast. "They wanted to pay [them] out of their own pocket."
Jimmy, however, decided to reject the offer because he "felt that that was not their responsibility." His pal Stephen then jokingly asked him, "Couldn't you say yes and then give your money to us?"
Matt himself told the Associated Press last month that it was "unbelievably important” for the union to safeguard the actors' interests amid the strike. "We got to protect the people who are kind of on the margins," he said at a red carpet event for "Oppenheimer" in London.
"26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance, and there are a lot of people who residual payments are what carry them across that threshold," he added. "If those residual payments dry up, so does their health care, and that’s absolutely unacceptable."
Back on the podcast, Jimmy revealed in the episode that he "was very intent on retiring right around the time where the strike started." He added, "And now, I realize, oh yeah, it's kind of nice to work."
After Seth told him, "Kimmel, c'mon, you are the Tom Brady of late night … you have feigned retirement," Jimmy then insisted that he was 100 percent serious about his plan. "I was serious - I was very, very serious," the latter emphasized.
