By now, you probably already know the story of comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s young son Billy. In May of last year, the Jimmy Kimmel Live host returned to television after a brief hiatus to explain that his son had undergone emergency open heart surgery, and the then-newborn had survived largely because of the doctors and staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the surviving tenets of the Affordable Care Act. Proponents and critics alike flocked to Kimmel’s newfound cause, which the television personality touted throughout the rest of 2017 and into the new year.
Cut to Tuesday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, during which Kimmel’s fellow talk show host revealed that she and her staff had a special “surprise” in store for him. “That could go either way on this show,” he joked. In response, DeGeneres assured him that it was “a good surprise”:
“We called our friends at Children’s Hospital LA, including Billy’s surgeon, and we have named one of the rooms of The Heart Institute floor in honor of Billy. They are there. That will forever be the Billy Kimmel room, and thanks to everyone at the Children’s Hospital LA — including several of Billy’s nurses, who are here in the audience today.”
When DeGeneres and the cameras pointed out the nurses in question, a teary Kimmel laughed and pointed them out, joking that they “should be at work.” The late night host probably had a rough idea as to what was coming, though, as DeGeneres began the segment by praising the more active role his monologues have adopted in recent years. “You are using your voice for good. You are saying a lot of important things,” she said. “You get very emotional and I love that about you.” Kimmel’s response? “I’m tearing up right now, to be honest with you.”
