Jimmy Kimmel Tears Up in Frank Monologue

Late-night TV host reveals newborn son had open-heart surgery
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 2, 2017 6:21 AM CDT

Jimmy Kimmel is known for his smirks, but Monday night he offered tears instead on Jimmy Kimmel Live with an emotional announcement, per the Hollywood Reporter. The late-night host was absent from his show last week, and he explained that it was because of the birth of his son, William "Billy" Kimmel, with wife Molly McNearney—a story he told through tears, though he assured audience members it had a "happy ending." Kimmel describes how, shortly after his son was born, a "very attentive nurse" not only picked up on the fact that the baby had a heart murmur (a common occurrence with newborns), but also that the infant was "purple." It turns out the baby was born with congenital heart disease and, at just three days old, had to undergo open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The surgery went well, and little Billy is now home with his mom and dad and big sister Jane. "Poor kid, not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face," Kimmel joked during audience applause as a picture of his smiling son was shown. He adds the baby is "doing great. He's eating, he's sleeping, he peed on his mother today." Kimmel momentarily got political and thanked members of Congress for voting Monday to give the NIH $2 billion more than usual, despite President Trump's wishes to cut funding. "If your baby is going to die, and it doesn't have to, it should not matter how much money you make," Kimmel said. (Trump himself was on Kimmel's show.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X