According to Jimmy Kimmel, his least-favorite guest was Vivica A. Fox, who threatened Kimmel for making jokes about her friend Star Jones.
The show was originally broadcast live. In 2004, due to increasing concerns about offending local affiliates, the show began taping an hour before airtime so network executives could vet it before it goes to air.
On August 21, 2012, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) would be moved from 12:00 a.m. to 11:35 p.m., putting the show up directly against "The Tonight Show" and "The Late Show", for the first time since its debut. "Nightline" would be moving to 12:35 a.m. after Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003). The change went into effect in January 2013.
Despite its name, the show had not actually aired live since 2004, when censors were unable to properly bleep censor a barrage of swearing from Thomas Jane.
The show's house band is Cleto and the Cletones, led by saxophonist Cleto Escobedo III, a childhood friend of Jimmy Kimmel.