Jimmy Kimmel Won’t Attend ABC’s Upfront Following Newborn Son’s Surgery

Nellie Andreeva

Tue, May 2, 2017 at 4:49 AM UTC

1 min read

Jimmy Kimmel revealed on his show that his son underwent successful open heart surgery shortly after birth, leading him to skip the upcoming ABC upfront presentation.
Kimmel's annual roast of ABC and its rivals at the upfront presentation will be missed this year as he remains close to his family following the health scare.
Late-night hosts' participation in upfront presentations was already in question due to a possible writers strike, but Kimmel's absence is now confirmed as he focuses on his son's recovery.

On his ABC show tonight, a very emotional Jimmy Kimmel unveiled that on April 21, he and his wife Molly welcomed a son, William "Billy" Kimmel, who underwent a successful open heart surgery three days later. While the late-night host was back at work tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , he will skip the May 16 ABC upfront presentation. Kimmel had been booked for what would've been his 15th upfront, with his annual roast of ABC and its rivals as well as ad buyers always among top highlights of the network presentations.

"In light of Jimmy's announcement on tonight's show, he will no longer be attending our Upfront this year so that he can remain close to his family," a rep for ABC said in a statement.

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The participation of late-night hosts, including Kimmel, in the upfront presentations this year had come into question in light of the possibility of a writers strike.

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