Jimmy Kimmel Opens Up About His Son's Health and Why He "Had to Say Something"

Jimmy Kimmel gave an update about his son's health in a new interview, saying that Billy is "doing great." He and his wife, Molly McNearney, welcomed their son on April 21. Billy was born with a rare heart defect, and in May, the late-night host fought back tears when he discussed Billy's heart condition on TV, urging people to reach out to Congress about health care. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jimmy talked about what it was like to share Billy's experience publicly. "I knew that I would get emotional," he said. "It occurred to me that maybe we could make it into something positive. I had a lot of time to think at the hospital, and it just so happened that our government was deciding whether or not millions of people should have healthcare at that time."

Recounting what it was like when Billy had to have an emergency surgery at three days old, Jimmy said, "I felt like I was in an episode of a television show where something terrible was happening. There were a lot of people scrambling around. At that point, I knew there was nothing I could do." His whole family went to the hospital, he said, adding, "We were worried getting through that time but my cousins Sal, Ivy, and Mickey showed up and started making fun of everyone else in the family. Somehow, we managed to laugh through the whole day."

He mentioned that Billy will need to have two more open-heart surgeries, saying, "We would like to get them over with and not have to think about it all the time, but it could definitely be worse."

Meanwhile, Billy is "doing great," Jimmy said. "Young Billy made his first visit to our office today. He's juggling. He's translating Flaubert from French into English. He's really an amazing kid," he joked. "No — he smiles. That's pretty much it. He is very interested in ceiling fans. He likes those a lot. I could get him to pay the same amount for Netflix just to watch ceiling fans."