Jimmy Kimmel says his best buddy Ben Affleck and arch nemesis Matt Damon offered to pay his staff amid the ongoing writers’ strike.
Since 2 May 2023, writers in Hollywood have picketed and protested for better working conditions outside the offices of major studios and companies like Netflix, Disney and Paramount.
Actors are also now on strike as of 13 July in solidarity with writers, which has effectively led to the shut down of Hollywood, as the production of films and TV shows and the promotion of content already completed has come to a halt.
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Many Hollywood stars have voiced their support for their fellow actors and writers who are on strike, including two of the most famous men from Massachusetts.
The life-long friends offered to help out the Jimmy Kimmel Live staff amid the writers’ strike, which Kimmel revealed during the first episode of his podcast, Strike Force Five. The late night TV host was joined by fellow TV stars Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Olivers. The main faces of late-night TV have united with a podcast to help out all of their out-of-work staff, with all proceeds from the show going to their employees.
So, as fans are likely aware, Kimmel and Damon have a long-standing ‘feud’ which has been a thing for the past two decades. They love each other really, but their hilarious jabs at each other are always, well, hilarious.
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During the podcast, Kimmel declared: "Ben Affleck and the despicable Matt Damon contacted me and offered to pay our staff for two weeks," Kimmel said on Wednesday's episode, alluding to his long-standing fake feud with Damon.
"A week each, they wanted to pay out of their own pockets our staff."
"Our staff or your staff?" Colbert asked, which made Kimmel laugh before he clarified that the offer was only for his staff.
Fallon called the Good Will Hunting stars ‘good people’ for their amazing offer.
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Alas, Kimmel said he declined their offer as he ‘felt that that was not their responsibility’, to which Meyers jumped in and asked.
"Could you just say yes and then give your money to us?" Colbert said.
Kimmel confessed he was planning to retire before the strikes started. He has hosted ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live since January 2003.
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"Are you guys getting stir-crazy? Are you ready to go back to work?" he asked. "Because as you know, I was very intent on retiring right around the time where the strike started, and now I realize, like, 'Oh, yeah, it's kinda nice to work.' You know, when you are working, you think about not working."
Topics: Ben Affleck, Film and TV, Matt Damon, SAG-AFTRA Writers Strike, US News, Money