Jimmy Kimmel & Molly McNearney: What Really Happened  ## Metadata - Author: [[We Can Do Hard Things]] - Full Title: Jimmy Kimmel & Molly McNearney: What Really Happened - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/8d6ae666-7748-42d0-ad54-426ba8a32062 ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Telling The Kids Amid Chaos** - Jimmy and Molly learned their show was suspended midday and hid calmness from their kids while helicopters hovered outside their home. - They told the children the president had done it and reassured them they were on the right side of history. Transcript: Glennon Doyle It was insane. Finally, the attention you deserve around you. Yeah. Jimmy Kimmel I don't know. I guess it felt like, I think it maybe, it felt like OJ during the chase. That's what it felt like. We were O Yeah, we were OJ. And headed home and helicopters and everybody. And then we were on TV 24 hours a day for like three days in a row. Molly McNearney And I had the realization that had I died, there would be nowhere near this much coverage oh my god it felt like you had died like we it was wild we were at work doing our thing and then midday Jimmy Kimmel We learned we are no longer doing our thing well when you say it felt like i had died what molly i think is saying is is i'm only alive to her as long as i'm on television yes and then you're Dead yes then i don't even exist. Molly McNearney Saturday and Sunday don't even see you. Yeah. You're dead. It was a really crazy day. And then we went home. We sat here for a while. We learned the show had been suspended. Moments after we learned, I believe, that's when I texted you, Glenn, and was like, well, we may have to cancel the podcast tonight. Jimmy Kimmel I wanted to do it anyway. You did. Molly McNearney Jimmy wanted to get us all in more trouble. Jimmy Kimmel Like, listen, we got business to attend to. Molly McNearney And then we just sat here in this office. Jimmy Kimmel The name of the podcast is We Can Do Hard Things, and we backed out on you. Oh, my God. Speaker 5 Because we couldn't. Jimmy Kimmel We can't do hard things. We can't. We've tried. Molly McNearney It's not for us. Jimmy Kimmel If they're even moderately uncomfortable, we won't do them. Molly McNearney That's so true. We canceled on We Can Do Hard Things. Yeah. Wow. I never thought of it. It's too hard. So then, hold on, I'm taking this back on track. So then we go home, which felt very strange because it felt weird to leave. Jimmy Kimmel Because we went to the wrong house. Stop it. And the people who lived there were disturbed. Stop it. And we just sat there in their living room and looked at them, and it was weird. And eventually they got up and left, and we just claimed the home. Molly McNearney Yeah, it's our home now. Jimmy Kimmel And we live there now. We can do hard things. Molly McNearney Yeah. Look at us. Okay, so back Let's just stay on track for one second. We go home. I know you guys will appreciate this as mothers. We go home and our kids are there. And we realize they have no idea what's going on. And we had to do that thing that parents do so well, which is just immediately put on a mask. And we did very well. And asked them, how was soccer today? And what's the funniest thing you heard at school today? And we were just trying to make conversation with our children. But meanwhile, our phones are just the whole time in our pockets. And there's helicopters over our house and madness outside. And Jimmy said, well, we're going to have to tell them because our daughter's in fifth grade and kids talk. And so we sat them down on the couch and we told them. ([Time 0:03:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4f14f1c2-5e78-4747-9974-913591a99f46)) - **Living In A 24/7 News Cycle** - The suspension created nonstop media attention and intense logistical strain for Jimmy and the staff. - Jimmy focused on practical steps and phone calls while feeling overwhelmed by uncertainty. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. It was up there. Molly McNearney Yeah, it was up there. It was up and down. It was all over the place. But I think what really got us through were, well, people like you, who constantly reached out with support and love, and then to watch the support of strangers was the most touching, Glennon Doyle I think. Jimmy Kimmel And weed also. Glennon Doyle A lot of weed. Weed do hard things. Yes do hard things i don't do weed hard things we do hard things by chewing soft things you guys what were those other what were the following days like and was it as heartwarming to see The entire world? That was amazing, the support. I cried. I cried day after day after day just reading the stories and the support. Did that sink in? It must have been the best of times and the worst of times. Jimmy Kimmel Yeah, it was nice. It was great. It was also so strange that it was hard to even process, I think. It's just weird. You know, the whole thing is weird. You know, just being on television is weird, and having people you don't know think they know you is weird. And it's all like something that we've become accustomed to, but it's not normal, and it doesn't make any sense, really. You understand it because you know you feel that same way about i may have felt that same way about david letterman when i was a kid but to um you know what it is i focus i tend to focus on the Negative for me for me i felt like like um like we'd lost the brakes on a 16 wheeler and we're headed downhill and i was just trying to you know not drive it off the road so there were a lot of Telephone calls. And there was a lot of strategizing and just general nervousness. I don't even like being on the phone. That alone was a big negative for me. But it was great to get support but you just didn't know what the next kind of chapter was going to be so like looking back it was like okay well you know what that that worked out okay and Um i feel like it was the most important thing i think is it was like a win for free speech you know and i feel like that that had been a long time in coming since we'd had a win of any kind. And I think it reminded people that we can win every once in a while and that it is good to keep fighting. But just personally, it was very confusing. You know, we've got a lot of people that we work with and we wanted to, you know, they have to work. They have jobs and everybody wanted to know what was going on and they had a right to know what was going on, but there were certain things that we couldn't tell them. And it was, it worked out great in the end, but while it was happening, it was, it's, you know, it's always different when it's happening. ([Time 0:09:52](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6c887b0f-ba60-416d-88ca-80ee2e02be14)) - **Small Acts Matter: The Moises Story** - A fan named Moises had been given Jimmy's letter years earlier and later tried to attend the canceled show. - Small personal connections like that kept Molly and Jimmy grounded during the crisis. Transcript: Molly McNearney It's a sweet thing that we haven't even talked about. So that night, there was a man sitting in the audience his name is moises and oh yeah moises yeah yeah we it sinks he didn't get to see the show jimmy connects with everybody everywhere He goes and we were in mexico once um and once again he gave his phone number to the at the restaurant at this um restaurant right he started as the waiter and then we um complimented him Jimmy Kimmel To the owner of the hotel and the next time we came back he was the manager right right Moises yes and then Moises was looking to for some help for getting a work visa in the United States Molly McNearney Right and asked. Jimmy Kimmel I wrote Moises a letter. Yeah. Molly McNearney Yes. You wrote a letter on his behalf. Jimmy Kimmel Which now wouldn't necessarily help him. Molly McNearney That's right. At the time. It would not help him at all actually. Jimmy Kimmel No. Now it would probably rule him out entirely. Yes. But at the time it was helpful to him. Molly McNearney Fewer people are asking for letters from Jimmy right now for the United States. Jimmy Kimmel That's the one. The silver lining is I don't have to write as many letters. Molly McNearney Definitely not. But as I was running between Jimmy's office, he had just given the news, and I was running to the theater to let our audience department know you need to release the audience and then we Need to let the guests go. I see a familiar face standing there and it's Moises. And I was like, what? Hi, what's happening? And I had forgotten. Jimmy told me, he's like, oh, he's coming. He wants to thank us for writing. He got in. He got into the United States, and he was coming to the show that night. And then he couldn't. He couldn't. Of course, of course, he couldn't come to our show, right? But there's just a lot of moments like that that were. Jimmy Kimmel A lot of Moises moments. But ([Time 0:14:50](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ebb68155-84a8-49ea-929e-89754360a563)) - **Use Partnership To Get Through Crisis** - When crisis hits, divide labor: Jimmy handled logistics while Molly relied on emotional partnership. - Use clear roles and mutual support to stay steady under pressure. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel We do handle it very differently. I'm kind of like, you know, when a police officer has seen a lot of dead bodies and eventually he becomes desensitized to it. So I'm not quite as, you know, I get a lot of negativity thrown my way. And I try not to, unless it's somebody I respect, I don't sweat it. You know, I don't let it get to me. I don't love it, but I just brush it aside, and I don't seek it out, certainly. Not being on Twitter has been a big help, because I find that the people on Instagram and YouTube are a much kinder bunch in general. So being off Twitter has been very helpful, but I just take a very practical approach to situations like this. I'm like, all right, what do we have to do? Who do I have to talk to? What do I have to check in with, and how are we going to handle this? I think Molly's more emotional. Would you say that's fair? Yeah, definitely. Molly McNearney I'm more emotional. I'm definitely more. She gets madder. I get really mad. I get emotional. I get easily rattled. ([Time 0:18:18](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0f4ca085-b1ad-42eb-8bc2-6907796549f2)) - **Limit Toxic Media Exposure** - Avoid dwelling on online nastiness; limit exposure to toxic platforms like Twitter. - Prioritize kinder platforms and focus on actionable next steps. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel I'm kind of like, you know, when a police officer has seen a lot of dead bodies and eventually he becomes desensitized to it. So I'm not quite as, you know, I get a lot of negativity thrown my way. And I try not to, unless it's somebody I respect, I don't sweat it. You know, I don't let it get to me. I don't love it, but I just brush it aside, and I don't seek it out, certainly. Not being on Twitter has been a big help, because I find that the people on Instagram and YouTube are a much kinder bunch in general. So being off Twitter has been very helpful, but I just take a very practical approach to situations like this. I'm like, all right, what do we have to do? Who do I have to talk to? What do I have to check in with, and how are we going to handle this? ([Time 0:18:20](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8949f1f0-049d-41c2-b3a2-df1172cae4e0)) - **Free Speech Wins Build Unity** - Targeting comedians signals broader assaults on free speech and civic norms. - The public defense of a comedian can unify unexpected allies across ideological divides. Transcript: Amanda Doyle I'm just so interested in how power consolidators who want to go after free speech always start with the comedians. You know, in 1939, the Nazis kicked out the five most, just expelled them, the five most popular comedians at the time. In, you know, Putin incarcerated the most popular comedians and gave the network over to a pro-Putin oligarch. Hoover's FBI exiled, forced Charlie Chaplin in exile. And it's just like kind of a go-to move. And so I've just been so curious what your take is on what is so powerful about comedy that power comes to it first and for it first? Jimmy Kimmel Well, I think nobody likes to be laughed at. And I think that being laughed at, it's the hardest thing for people like Donald Trump to deal with, because it shows that you're not taking them seriously. You're pushing their buttons and you're not scared them even if you are scared of them a little bit but um i think that it it's also i think a big mistake i think it's for a dictator not that I want to give him any tips people really if there's one thing we understand on both sides if you want to put it that way in this country, it's that I think Donald Trump got elected in large Part because people felt that comedians were being pressured and censored. And it was kind of like, hey, I think this is funny and and you're making me feel like a jerk. And you're saying that this comedian that I like can't say this, that makes me laugh, and it really hits home with people in a deeply personal way, and I think in a historical way as well. You know, we all grew up hearing these stories about Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor and George Carlin and Howard Stern more recently, where the government got involved in their comedy, And just nobody likes that. It doesn't matter which side you're on, nobody likes that. And I'd always wondered, because I anticipated that this day would come, I always wondered and hoped that my colleagues on the right would would defend the principle if not you know It you know some people like me some people don't whatever but I think that being a comedian there's a bond there for sure and it may even be a stronger bond than being an American in a lot Of ways because you do understand each other. You know how hard it is to walk out on a stage by yourself and make people laugh. And no matter what you're doing, it's hard. Even if you're doing it the cheapest possible way, it's not easy. And if it was, you'd see a lot more comedians than there are. I was heartened to um to get support from people that i don't usually get support from and i always felt that if the situation was reversed i would feel the same way and i think a lot of false Comparisons have been made to other situations other comedians high profile comedians who've been canceled, if you want to use that word, whether it's a literal or figurative word. But it's not the same thing. It's in no way the same thing as the head of the FCC threatening the broadcasters who put your show on the air, threaten them and suggest that they might pull their licenses in a very overt Way, in the stupidest possible way, on television, on camera, for all to see. ([Time 0:20:41](https://share.snipd.com/snip/178e3ee2-f7b4-4527-a987-ae59f9a6328e)) - **Why Comedy Threatens Power** - Comedy is dangerous to authoritarian power because it undermines dignity and exposes absurdity. - Jimmy says comedians share a strong bond and defending free speech crosses political lines. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel I think nobody likes to be laughed at. And I think that being laughed at, it's the hardest thing for people like Donald Trump to deal with, because it shows that you're not taking them seriously. You're pushing their buttons and you're not scared them even if you are scared of them a little bit but um i think that it it's also i think a big mistake i think it's for a dictator not that I want to give him any tips people really if there's one thing we understand on both sides if you want to put it that way in this country, it's that I think Donald Trump got elected in large Part because people felt that comedians were being pressured and censored. And it was kind of like, hey, I think this is funny and and you're making me feel like a jerk. And you're saying that this comedian that I like can't say this, that makes me laugh, and it really hits home with people in a deeply personal way, and I think in a historical way as well. You know, we all grew up hearing these stories about Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor and George Carlin and Howard Stern more recently, where the government got involved in their comedy, And just nobody likes that. It doesn't matter which side you're on, nobody likes that. And I'd always wondered, because I anticipated that this day would come, I always wondered and hoped that my colleagues on the right would would defend the principle if not you know It you know some people like me some people don't whatever but I think that being a comedian there's a bond there for sure and it may even be a stronger bond than being an American in a lot Of ways because you do understand each other. You know how hard it is to walk out on a stage by yourself and make people laugh. And no matter what you're doing, it's hard. Even if you're doing it the cheapest possible way, it's not easy. And if it was, you'd see a lot more comedians than there are. I was heartened to um to get support from people that i don't usually get support from and i always felt that if the situation was reversed i would feel the same way and i think a lot of false Comparisons have been made to other situations other comedians high profile comedians who've been canceled, if you want to use that word, whether it's a literal or figurative word. But it's not the same thing. It's in no way the same thing as the head of the FCC threatening the broadcasters who put your show on the air, threaten them and suggest that they might pull their licenses in a very overt Way, in the stupidest possible way, on television, on camera, for all to see. It's just, it's remarkable that this person even still has his job. It's just crazy to me. ([Time 0:21:34](https://share.snipd.com/snip/00f4cb97-a4eb-48a3-9484-37ea36843603)) - **Politics As A Long Con** - The political moment resembles a con where spectacle replaces governance and material realities expose the fraud. - Jimmy believes declining approval and everyday hardships will force reckoning. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel Think that these ideas, you know, listen, this is all a con. The whole thing is a con. I mean, you turn on TV and you see the president selling watches. He's selling cheap watches that don't seem to actually be made in the usa and you have to at some point when that watch arrives and it's a piece of junk and when he tells you he's going to Lower all the prices and only he can solve this problem and that problem and how much better your life is going to be i think that at a certain point you, you look around, I think, I don't, I feel like it's, it's, it's, it has arrived because his approval ratings are very historically low, no matter what he said, people are starting to realize like, oh, I think I might've Been conned here. I think like these things that I was told aren't, are going to happen aren't happening. I mean, we just saw it with the soybean farmers. It's like suddenly China's not buying any soybeans from there. Like, hey, what the heck? We voted for you, and now we're not selling any soybeans. And he's like, don't worry. I'm going to go. I'm going to fix this. And he makes a deal, and they're now back to selling the same amount of soybeans, which wasn't enough to start with and I think that people are you know as as confused as they may be as bamboozled As they may be ultimately they have to go to the supermarket and buy eggs and I think that the the lies only go so far I don't hear a lot of hope there well the hope well you know the sadly the Hope is that um you know, it's like a drug addict. We're going to have to hit rock bottom. Molly McNearney I felt like we already did. I feel like, I feel like every time we hit rock bottom is like, Oh, there's more bottom. Oh, wow. There's another floor. Yeah. Like it, then they're like, Oh, there's now there's an escalator down. Oh, and now we're on an elevator down but there's got to be a bottom eventually right where we yeah i guess i feel like we keep hitting it um but i will say this experience of the show being Suspended and then put back on gave me extreme hope for the first time in a long time same and it really felt good and i feel like um i felt united with people and I felt like, OK, we're getting Back to the basic rights that we let's start here and then let's keep cracking. I love the protests. ([Time 0:39:43](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6b6335e8-b862-4d4c-b45e-c4908d7f1696)) - **Stay And Fight, Don't Flee** - Jimmy refuses to flee the country and views patriotic symbols as shared, not partisan. - He says staying and fighting is his response to political stress. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel I put up a flag on the 4th of July at my house, you know. Molly McNearney He also wears Crocs that have American flags and a tank top with an American flag. Jimmy Kimmel I'm not giving that up. That's not theirs. This is all of ours. Molly McNearney Yeah, he is not a runner at all. Jimmy Kimmel Yeah, it was funny because I got Italian citizenship. And, of course, the narrative and the news was that I was fleeing the country. And, you know, of course, everybody had a thought and opinion on that. And none of it was true. My mom got Italian citizenship. And then as a result, her children and grandchildren got Italian citizenship. And, um, but you know, the narrative is the narrative is like, Oh, these liberals freeing the fleeing the country or whatever. I will never flee the country. That's the very last thing that I will do. ([Time 0:52:54](https://share.snipd.com/snip/11a24c32-c61b-48d5-8e7b-af484ae72444)) - **The Office Wardrobe Prank** - Jimmy's ongoing prank campaign at work involved copying a coworker's wardrobe to drive him crazy. - The prank continued into Halloween with staged costume duplication to escalate the joke. Transcript: Jimmy Kimmel This is have more fun I have a continuation of that prank, which now, unfortunately, there's a guy named Danny we work with and he knows about the prank. But it turns out that like I've taken a page from Donald Trump, like this prank where what we've done is there's a guy named Danny and a guy named Josh. And Danny told Josh that he needs to dress better for work. So what I did is I got an exhaustive list of all of Danny's clothes, photographed all of it, and then ordered duplicates of everything. And then Josh would come into work, he'd check Danny's ring camera, and he'd come into work dressed just like Danny. And it started, Danny's like, what? What's going on? He knew something was wrong. Almost Almost immediately he knew something was wrong, but we just kept doing it and acting like it was nothing. Molly McNearney It was making him crazy. Jimmy Kimmel It was making him absolutely crazy. So what's happening now, just so you know, we're taping this the night before Halloween, right? Yes. Okay. So on Halloween tomorrow, we have colluded to find out what Danny's Halloween costume is. Josh has purchased the same Halloween costume and went over to his house to take a picture with Danny's children. No. So Josh is then going to post that on Instagram and let Danny find it. Oh, that's wonderful. And Danny's going to lose his mind. Molly McNearney This is what Jimmy does with his very, very, very, very little free time. Jimmy Kimmel You have to make time for things like this. You really do. Glennon Doyle This is how we make it through. Somehow this is how we make it through. This kind of absurdity. I think you're right. Yeah. Jimmy Kimmel I love it. It makes me so happy. ([Time 1:04:32](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ef6cc132-83cf-4890-b2f8-633d4073bfb8))