Jimmy Kimmel Showed His Audience A Clip That Could Never Be Aired On TV

Throughout Jimmy Kimmel's lengthy career, he has been able to become so rich that he can take care of his family by walking a very perilous line. After all, Jimmy Kimmel Live! gets aired on national television even though its host often weighs in on scandals. While some of the best talk show hosts have done the same thing, it is always incredible when he does things like weigh in on the Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien scandal.

While ABC lets Jimmy get away with a lot on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, there clearly is a line they won't let him cross. After all, ABC wouldn't let Jimmy air a movie clip that was so offensive that it shocked his studio audience.

Sacha Baron Cohen's Movie Clip Shocked Jimmy Kimmel's Studio Audience

Over the last several decades, the television networks have become more and more permissive. For example, there was a time that TV couples weren't allowed to be shown sharing a bed, and now it seems like most shows push the envelope.

However, even in the modern television landscape, there are some things that the television networks would never allow to air. That fact led to one of Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s most remarkable moments ever. In February 2016, Jimmy Kimmel Live! welcomed the controversial Sacha Baron Cohen onto the show as a guest. During that episode, Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s studio audience was shown a movie clip that obviously shocked them.

After the episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired, a recording of the moment involving the clip was uploaded on YouTube.

As of September 2024, Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel has 19.6 million subscribers. Throughout the channel's history, it has published many videos that went viral, including a slew of memorable skits involving a wide array of celebrities.

That video revealed that many in the show's studio audience had huge reactions to the clip of Sacha's movie, The Brothers Grimsby. It is important to note that The Brothers Grimsby was simply titled Grimsby outside of North America.

The YouTube video also revealed the fascinating series of events that took place before the clip from The Brothers Grimsby aired. The YouTube video begins with Jimmy and Sacha talking to each other.

While sitting in his typical host's chair, Jimmy explained to Sacha that ABC wouldn't let the show very much of the movie clip he brought.

So we have a clip. It is unacceptable for broadcast television. We can show a few seconds.

However, Jimmy then revealed what led to his studio audience looking so grossed out.

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Brothers Grimsby only earned a 36% critic's score. That said, the movie performed a little bit better with moviegoers, as it had a 41% audience score on the same website.

Jimmy did this by telling Sacha that the show agreed to show their audience the clip from The Brothers Grimsby that ABC deemed to be too offensive.

We can show the clip to our studio audience and then the home viewers can watch the studio audience watch the clip.

While Jimmy Kimmel's fans may have expected Sacha to be happy with that arrangement, that isn't how the controversial movie star reacted.

In response to Jimmy revealing the studio audience would see the clip, Sacha reacted like he was outraged.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s first episode premiered on January 26, 2003, which means that the show has been airing for more than two decades.

In fact, Sacha outright told Jimmy that the decision not to show home viewers the clip was unacceptable before he agreed to that decision.

"You're saying I've come on this show for the first time in 12 years, and you're going to show the audience watching my clip, but the people at home will not be able to watch the clip... It's not okay, but it feels like I have no other option."

Jimmy then went on to address the studio audience before the clip was played for them. Jimmy read the audience a warning about the clip which drove home how extreme it was. "I've been instructed to warn our studio audience... That the scenes you're about to see are very graphic and potentially offensive. If you want to leave right now, you have the option of doing that. If you wanna leave during the clip, you may do that as well."

Considering that Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s studio audience had such a huge reaction to the clip, that footage was a smart way to promote The Brothers Grimsby. As it turns out, that wasn't the first time that Sacha Baron Cohen promoted The Brothers Grimsby in a unique way on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In December 2015, Sacha appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as his most famous character, Borat. As an ABC News article about that appearance revealed, Sacha appeared on the show as Borat to premiere the first trailer for The Brothers Grimsby.

Sacha Baron Cohen Promoting The Brothers Grimsby On Jimmy Kimmel Live! Seemed To Flop

Sadly for movie fans, it often seems like most movies are promoted to audiences in the same way. For example, there have been far too many movie trailers that featured slowed-down covers of high-tempo songs that were hits in the past.

Since the way that most movies are promoted can be tedious, it seems like a studio getting creative should be rewarded. For example, it would have been great if the unique way that The Brothers Grimsby was promoted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! led to the movie being a hit.

Sadly for everyone involved with the movie, however, The Brother Grimsby underperformed commercially.

Even though the movie's unique promotion didn't seem to work, that doesn't mean that movie studios shouldn't continue to be more creative in the future. After all, there certainly is no evidence that The Brothers Grimsby underperformed commercially because of how it was promoted.

Instead, it seems much more likely that The Brothers Grimsby just wasn't popular enough with viewers to be a hit. After all, The Brothers Grimsby continues to get mixed reviews many years after it was first released.