Fallon even referenced the Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscar drama with a joke about ‘surprises’ on ABC.
Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel pulled one over on their fans with a hilarious April Fool’s Day prank. To the surprise (and delight) of their in-studio audiences and viewers at home, the late night hosts switched gigs, with Fallon taking over the desk over at Jimmy Kimmel Live! while Kimmel hosted The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The comedians were completely committed to the practical joke as they each had to fly across the country to pull it off: Fallon works out of New York, while Kimmel is based in Hollywood.
After Fallon appeared on Kimmel’s stage to thunderous applause, he quickly quipped, “Please, please, settle down, you’re gonna offend the other Jimmy!” He then referenced Sunday’s Oscar drama of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock — which was broadcast on ABC — saying, “For surprises on ABC this week, this one’s a distant second.” Kimmel, meanwhile, opened his monologue by joking, “It’s freaky Friday tonight! How many of you are disappointed?”
The pair chatted via virtual video at the top of the shows and said they originally planned to do the swap on April Fool’s Day back in 2020 — but the pandemic sidelined the prank. “I love that we did this — I can’t believe we pulled it off,” Fallon said, noting that the inspiration was “Jimmy and I wanted to have some fun with people mixing us up all the time.” Before they went their separate ways to host each other’s show, Fallon added, “This is wild, but it’s been an amazing experience. I love that we did this. I can’t believe we pulled it off.”
Fallon had a blast with special guest Justin Timberlake as they played “Sweet Tweets,” a gentler version of Kimmel’s “Mean Tweets” gag. The pop star also impersonated Kimmel’s “arch nemesis” Matt Damon for the first segment. Fallon also interviewed Kimmel’s Aunt Chippy, while Kimmel played games with superstar Hugh Jackman and comedian Bridget Everett. The Red Hot Chili Peppers — who released a new album called “Unlimited Love” this week — appeared as musical guest on both shows.
Watch the hilarious prank unfold above!
