Originally appeared on E! Online
Jimmy Kimmel is giving his perseverance a five-star rating.
Nearly a month after his eponymous late night show was renewed for another year, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host shared the biggest takeaway from his professional career in 2025.
“I learned a lot of lessons,” Kimmel exclusively told E News’ Daryn Carp in an interview at the 2026 Critic Choice Awards on Jan. 4. “I guess, ‘Stick to your guns.’ That’s the biggest lesson I learned last year.”
And when Carp noted that he’d developed both metaphorical and literal muscles, the comedian joked, “Well, I didn’t say that, but I do have guns.”
Indeed, Kimmel — who won Best Talk Show at the ceremony — went through an unprecedented period last fall. Before the 58-year-old’s latest contract extension, his show was suspended “indefinitely” in September following backlash to comments he’d made during his monologue about Charlie Kirk’s murder that month. The series was brought back to air less than a week later.
READ: Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Silence on Show Suspension
The “Boss Baby” alum — who shares kids Katie, 34, and Kevin, 32, with ex-wife Gina Maddy, as well as Jane, 11, and Billy, 8, with wife Molly McNeary — hit another tough roadblock two months later, when his childhood best friend and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” band leader Cleto Escobedo III died at the age of 59.
He honored the musician in a heartfelt tribute, explaining that they’ve “been inseparable since I was 9 years old.”
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel wrote in the Instagram post at the time. “To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true.”
The 2026 Critics Choice Awards brought the heat. From Chelsea Handler’s opening monologue to Jimmy Kimmel’s poignant acceptance speech and Timothee Chalamet’s sweet shoutout to Kylie Jenner — Access Hollywood is breaking down the top moments of the night.
And as he and his loved ones embrace the new year, they’re already being mindful of how they’re going to accomplish their goals.
Recounting how McNeary had asked him and their kids about their intentions for 2026, Kimmel explained to E! at the Critic Choice Awards, “I was like, ‘Oh God, I hope they don’t even get to me. I hope this is such a mess with the kids,’ because they don’t have intentions.”
Because, truthfully, he continued, “I don’t have any intentions this year. I just kinda keep going, that’s it.”
(E! and USA Network are both part of Versant Media.)
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