Advertisement

Rob Ford continues calculated friendship with Jimmy Kimmel on Ford Nation YouTube show

Jimmy Kimmel on Ford Nation YouTube show

Hollywood talk show host Jimmy Kimmel continued his calculated relationship with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford with an appearance on the mayor’sYouTube show this week, in an interview that featured more awkward grinning than anything else.

Kimmel made good on a promise to appear on Ford's YouTube show, which he made after the controversial mayor appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! during Ford’s recent visit to Hollywood.

He appeared via video wearing a black suit with a red tie and pocket square – the same "magician" outfit Ford had worn during his television appearance.

What followed was an awkward five-minute segment, during which Ford grinned and chuckled while his brother, Coun. Doug Ford, buddied with Kimmel and asked a few random questions.

[ Related: Rob Ford gets the auto-tune treatment in new video ]

At one point, Doug asked Kimmel about getting his audience drunk – which Kimmel said he used to do in the early years of his late night talk show host, until someone drank to excess and had to be removed from the stands. Kimmel joked that he couldn't remember what happened that night because he, too, was drunk.

"I used that excuse one too many times myself," Rob Ford said, laughing.

The Fords and Kimmel have an interesting relationship. Kimmel has mocked Ford mercilessly for his series of bizarre indiscretions and personal flubs and grilled him when Ford appeared on the show.

The Ford brother appeared to be upset in the immediate aftermath of the Kimmel appearance, but later changed their tone and now call Kimmel a personal friend.

Kimmel, meantime, has called Ford the best mayor, primarily because provides so much content for his comedy show. In a recent interview with Esquire magazine, Kimmel admitted that Ford has made his job very easy.

"The future of Jimmy Kimmel Live! relies on Rob getting re-elected," Doug said during the YouTube interview, to which Kimmel readily agreed.

Continuing their calculated friendship is a win for both Kimmel and the Fords. Kimmel continues to get exclusive access to fresh Ford material. And being seen buddying with Kimmel gives Ford a celebrity edge in his re-election campaign, and allows the mayor to be part of the joke, rather than the butt of it.

Want to know what news is brewing in Canada?
Follow @MRCoutts on Twitter.