Jimmy Kimmel on Home Cooking, Traveling to Italy, and Talking With Tom Hanks During His Family’s COVID-19 Self-Quarantine

Jimmy Kimmel joined Howard for much of the Stern Show on Monday, connecting with the broadcast live from his Southern California home. The comedian and late-night host revealed that, like with many Americans, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected his day-to-day life. For starters, he and his family are partaking in social distancing and self-quarantining as best they can at home.

“Jimmy, you must be going fucking mental,” Howard said, curious how his longtime friend has been keeping busy.

“I’ve prepared every meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—for the family,” Jimmy said. “I’ve got two little kids, you know. It’s hard. It’s no walk in the park.”

“Are you homeschooling, Jimmy?” the Stern Show’s co-host Robin Quivers wondered.

“Well, they’re only in pre-school,” he responded. “So, there’s only so much they’re gonna learn.”

Jimmy and his wife Molly’s kids might not be doing calculus or chemistry just yet, but their 5-year-old daughter Jane has managed to learn the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” theme song, she sang it recently in a video her father published on Twitter.

“I thought that was really great,” Howard said after hearing it.

Like so many other late-night shows with live studio audiences, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is on hiatus right now in an attempt to thwart the spread of coronavirus. He and his wife, one of the show’s writers, are trying to stay sane while stuck at home, but Jimmy admitted it hasn’t always been easy.

“How are her feet doing?” Howard asked, referencing a prior on-air conversation the two had about Molly’s alleged foot odor issue.

“You know what? It’s close quarters, so she’s been keeping them really clean. I’m really proud of her,” Jimmy said, adding that every time Molly posts about even the most serious topics online a Stern Show listener inevitably responds with a comment about her feet.

Clean feet aren’t the only silver lining the coronavirus pandemic has brought, either.

As listeners most certainly remember, Howard and his wife Beth had planned an Italian vacation with Jimmy and Molly last March, but Howard infamously backed out a few months later. On Monday morning, Howard revealed his wife had once again signed him up to visit Italy with Jimmy and Molly, but this time their trip was thwarted by the spread of COVID-19.

“When I heard we didn’t have to go to Italy, I breathed a sigh of relief,” Howard said with a laugh.

“You willed this on the planet,” Jimmy joked.

“In all seriousness, I’m really bummed out about this [pandemic]. I’m really worried,” Howard said. “I would go to Italy if I could wish this pandemic away.”

While Jimmy and Howard may not be touring the Italian countryside together anytime soon, the late-night host said he was relieved the Stern Show is continuing unabated amid the outbreak. “I’m very glad you guys are back on the air because it is needed for sure … because people are going a little crazy,” he said.

Later in the show, Robin shared an update about actor and cultural icon Tom Hanks, who revealed about a week ago he had tested positive for COVID-19. “He was released from the hospital and he’s okay,” Robin said.

Jimmy, who’d recently had an email exchange with Hanks, confirmed Robin’s report. “I did interact with him and he seems fine,” Jimmy said, adding, “He said the worst part was the hospital food.”