Matt Damon Jimmy Kimmel: The greatest moments in their feud

Nearly a decade ago, Jimmy Kimmel, the fresh-faced host of the relatively new late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live, had a particularly lame night. Though he felt discouraged by his lineup of less-than-stellar guests, he managed to end the night with a solid joke: “I want to apologize to Matt Damon. We ran out of time.” The joke was so solid, in fact, that Kimmel began ending every single show with the quip, thus beginning one of the most hilarious feuds in television history.

Try as he might, Matt Damon just can’t seem to land a guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The schedule bumps have led to some animosity between the two, and over the years, there have been viral videos, poorly-timed fire alarms, and awards show surprises, but one thing’s for sure: the foemance between Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel is the gift that keeps on giving.

In honor of Matt Damon crashing the set dressed as Tom Brady last weekend, EW has rounded up the greatest moments of their epic feud.

Matt appears for the first time, 2006

So close, and yet so far. Jimmy makes good on his promise to have Matt on the show, but thanks to a long-winded introduction, runs out of time before Matt can actually say anything.

Matt gets the boot from ‘The Bourne Ultimatum,’ 2007

Jimmy shares a teaser for Matt’s upcoming Bourne movie with his audience, only to reveal a wild plot twist: Jason Bourne is now played by Guillermo. An angry Matt confronts his replacement (“What, now he wants to bump me from my own f—ing movies?!”); hilarity ensures.

Sarah Silverman is F—— Matt Damon, 2008

There’s no better revenge on an enemy than sleeping with his girlfriend, right? Matt does just that in a video with Sarah Silverman, Kimmel’s girlfriend at the time, called “I’m F—ing Matt Damon.” The hilarious song became a viral sensation before viral videos were even a thing, and with good reason.

Jimmy is F—ing Ben Affleck, 2009

For Jimmy’s revenge on Matt for sleeping with his girlfriend, he had to hit him where it hurts: his beloved bromance with fellow Bostonian Ben Affleck. The follow-up song, accompanied by a star-studded video, even got the go-ahead from Affleck’s then-wife Jennifer Garner.

Matt gets Jimmy kicked out of the Handsome Men’s Club, 2010

Jimmy’s tenure as president of the Handsome Men’s Club is cut short after members like Rob Lowe, Josh Hartnett, and Matthew McConaughey vote him out, but the democracy of the club is thrown for a loop when Matt is revealed to be the mastermind behind Jimmy’s ousting.

Matt gets cut from Movie: The Movie, 2012

Matt gets stuck playing ‘grapes’ in Jimmy’s epic compilation movie Movie: The Movie, and what do you know – his only line gets cut.

Matt takes over the show, 2013

Matt finally exacts his revenge on Jimmy, taking him hostage and forcing himself on the show as host. His monologue even gets some help from the late, great Robin Williams.

Matt gets interrupted by the fire alarm, 2013

Matt is finally invited back to the Kimmel stage alongside the cast of Monuments Men and is just about to answer an actual question when the suspiciously-timed fire alarm goes off. Matt tries to get everyone in the studio to stick around, to no avail.

Matt reads mean tweets, 2014

While most celebrities who read mean tweets on Kimmel are being mocked by anonymous Twitter users, Matt’s insult came from a familiar face – Jimmy himself.

Jimmy rats on Matt as the ‘Deflategate’ culprit, 2015

Though several New England stars drop by to confess their role in ‘Deflategate,’ only Matt gets a grilling from Jimmy, with some help from Kimmel ally John Krasinski.

The pair head to couples counseling, 2015

After Matt tries to sneak on the show dressed as Dr. Phil, the pair head to an ill-fated session of couple’s counseling. Come for the Dr. Phil disguise, stay for the lingering, bromantic hug.

Matt auctions himself off for charity, 2015

Not even the promise of a charity event can get Matt on Jimmy’s show. It’s around this time we started to believe that Matt actually does live backstage, patiently awaiting his time in the spotlight.

Ben Affleck sneaks Matt onto the show, 2016

Ben stops by the show, and brings a certain someone with him, stuffed under a giant coat.

Matt disguises himself to play blackjack with Aunt Chippy, 2016

Another day, another goofy disguise, this time involving a mullet and sunglasses.

Matt and Jimmy go to couples counseling…again, 2016

If at first you don’t succeed, try couples counseling again. Only maybe with less penis drawings next time.

The feud reaches ‘The Tonight Show,’ 2016

Matt heads to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and makes some not-so-subtle digs toward that other Jimmy with a late night talk show. If we didn’t believe Matt lives backstage before, we definitely do now.

Matt crashes the Jimmy-hosted Emmys, 2016

Matt makes a surprise appearance at the Emmys right after Jimmy’s big loss. Consider this one of the best feud moments, if only for the mom/Good Will Hunting joke at the end.

Matt disguises himself as Tom Brady, 2017

With a new year comes a new great moment in the never-ending gag. This time, Matt sneaks onto the show dressed as Super Bowl champion and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Jimmy defaces Matt’s photo, 2017

Did you know Matt was a producer on Best Picture nominee Manchester by the Sea? Well, Jimmy sure did, and took the opportunity to draw devil horns and a mustache on Matt’s mug (and of course, make a hilarious pun).

Jimmy makes fun of Matt at the Oscars, 2017

After a hilarious clip of Oscars host Jimmy sarcastically praising Matt’s 2011 flick We Bought a Zoo, Matt finally got a moment in the spotlight as a presenter presenter Ben Affleck’s ‘guest.’ He barely got a word in, though, as Jimmy, moonlighting as a conductor, played him off stage each time he spoke.