Jimmy Kimmel Live! won’t air this week: Heartbreaking reason

Jimmy Kimmel Live! No new episodes this week for good reason.

Jimmy Kimmel paused tonight to mourn the loss of his close friend and longtime teammate Pleto Escobedo, otherwise known as Cleto Jr.

The emotional guest announced the breakup when he closed Monolouka on Tuesday night, November 11, forcing everyone to spend time with their friends and loved ones, “your friends.”

The night’s event brought out Eddie Murphy, who appeared to be promoting his new Netflix documentary Eddie, and Morgan Fairchild.

“Thank you, we’re taking it for the next two nights,” Kimmel shared after paying an emotional tribute to his childhood friend.

“I wanted to tell you here tonight to tell you my friend and Clede Murphy and he didn’t want us to miss that,” he said.

At the start of the show, the 50-year-old host told the audience, “We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years and I’ve had to make some tough spots along the way.”

“But this…” He tried to speak before bursting into tears. This one is the hardest,” Kimmel said, his voice shaking. “Late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special, someone who was too young to go.”

Due to the brief hiatus, guests who were originally scheduled to appear this week will be postponed to future episodes.

The lineup includes Danny Devito, Howard Jones, and Debbie Gibson Banson on Wednesday, and Jason Batman, Mr. T, and Susanna Battles Thursday.

Specifically, Jimmy Kimmel Live! He was recently suspended from ABC in September 2025 due to controversial comments he made about the murder of anti-punishment activist Charlie Kirk and the backlash from Donald Trump and his supporters.