ABC, NBCIt's no secret that Jimmy Kimmel is a staunch member of Team Letterman. Or, really, Team Anyone but Leno.
Take his infamous "10@10" segment. Or last month's diss-heavy call to reporters. Or most things he's done, ever.
And now we can add his upcoming interview with Rolling Stone to the list of outlets he's tapped to help him best eviscerate Jay Leno, his soon-to-be new late-night time-slot competitor.
"As a comedian, you can't not have disdain for what he's done: He totally sold out," Kimmel told the magazine in an excerpt obtained by the New York Daily News.
"He was a master chef who opened a Burger King."
Well, there's a compliment buried in there somewhere. If you squint hard enough.
Kimmel's renewed late-night battle comes ahead of ABC's decision to move Jimmy Kimmel Live! forward in its schedule to compete against the big boys—Leno and David Letterman and, incidentally, TV pal Stephen Colbert—as, beginning Jan. 8, Kimmel will begin airing at 11:35 p.m.
"If I beat David Letterman in the ratings, does that mean I'm better than Letterman? No f--king way," he said.
And while he will no longer technically be competing against Jimmy Fallon, he knows he hasn't yet escaped that competitive shadow. And he seems to be just fine with that.
"People are going to compare me and him for years to come—we're positioned as the Leno and Letterman of the next round. I like it, because he's a very worthy competitor."
Your move, Craig Ferguson.