Jimmy Kimmel Shares 'One Of The Weirdest Things' About Getting COVID-19

Host Jimmy Kimmel is finally back hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after being diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier in the month.

On Monday, the late-night host returned to his ABC show to tell his audience that he feels “very good” and that his “whole family’s fine,” as per The Hollywood Reporter.

In his monologue, Kimmel said that he “had it pretty easy” when discussing his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.

“I was tired. I had a little bit of a headache. But those are also the symptoms of having children,” he joked. “So it may have been pre-existing conditions.”

He added that a part of him felt that he “deserved” to get the virus because he had been “obnoxiously pleased with myself that I hadn’t gotten it yet.”

“Every time I would meet somebody who’s had it, I would be like, ‘Oh yeah, I haven’t had it.’ And I was thinking, ‘I guess it means that I’m smarter and stronger than you,’ and then I got it,” he confessed.

Kimmel also said that it was “weird” getting diagnosed with COVID-19 when you host a TV show.

“One of the weird things about having a television show is when you get COVID, everyone knows it,” he explained. “It’s in the news and then everyone checks in to see how you’re doing.”

“It’s like your birthday on Facebook times 1,000, which is nice, but unlike a birthday it’s not just once, it’s multiple times, you get 100 people checking in three times a day,” he continued. “And it’s a lot to respond to. You get to the point where somebody sends a text and you just want to write back ‘Um, this is not Jimmy, I found his phone, Jimmy died, Jimmy’s dead.'”

He pulled out a list of those who checked in, revealing that Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, and Jon Stewart all checked in to make sure he was okay. “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert – who is currently out with COVID-19 for a second time – even sent soup to his house.

However, Kimmel revealed that he didn’t hear from Seth Meyers, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, or “frenemy” Matt Damon.

He also revealed that he got a text from comedian Martin Short asking if he wanted John Mulaney if they wanted to have dinner together. However, after he told Short that he was currently battling COVID, he said Short never texted him back.

Kimmel added that actor Bill Crystal also checked in on him, but noted that, since Crystal had been nominated for two Tony Awards, it might not have been a coincidence.

Although Colbert canceled “The Late Show” after he had come down with COVID-19 for a second time, Kimmel asked comedian Mike Birbiglia to fill in for him. Birbiglia was supposed to be a guest on the show, but ended up hosting it instead after Kimmel had to go into quarantine.

Kimmel thanked Birbiglia for filling in for him and told him that he did a “fantastic job.” Kimmel joked that his mom might have been a little too complimentary towards Birbiglia, but it’s all water under the bridge.

Kimmel also joked about former President Donald Trump’s comments during the beginning of the pandemic where he suggested that disinfectants could be used to fight COVID-19 if ingested, which is not something that the FDA recommended.

Kimmel joked, “I drank so much bleach, my teeth are whiter than a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.”