Did Jimmy Kimmel kick Karoline Leavitt off ‘The Tonight Show?’ Viral claim debunked
In April 2025, a rumor spread online that Jimmy Kimmel removed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt from The Tonight Show. The claim appears to have started from a YouTube video posted by the channel PawScribe on April 8, 2025.
“Karoline Leavitt Kicked Off Jimmy Kimmel's Show After Fiery Confrontation!” the title of the video read.
The post amassed over 73K views and later circulated across other YouTube channels, TikTok, and Facebook.
However, the now-viral rumor has turned out to be fake. Jimmy Kimmel has never hosted Karoline Leavitt on any of his shows, and his late-night show is called Jimmy Kimmel Live! and not The Tonight Show.
Moreover, the description on the PawScribe channel states that their content is “entirely fictional and crafted solely for entertainment.”
“Any resemblance to real events, individuals, or situations is purely coincidental and unintentional. These narratives are not intended to depict, reference, or represent any actual occurrences, persons, or entities,” it added.
Additionally, the video didn’t provide specific details such as the broadcast date or time, nor did it contain any real footage of Jimmy Kimmel and Karoline Leavitt having a conversation. Thus, the rumor must be debunked.
Jimmy Kimmel did not kick Karoline Leavitt off his show
Several other YouTube channels shared the viral claim about Jimmy Kimmel allegedly ejecting Karoline Leavitt off his late-night show. For instance, the Elite Stories channel uploaded a clip on April 12, 2025, that was headlined,
“Karoline Leavitt Kicked Out of Jimmy Kimmel's Show After Heated Argument - Full Breakdown.”
The post amassed more than 27K views but failed to provide credible evidence to support its claims. The same goes for other YouTube channels, including StarTalk Diaries, Stories of Soul, and Dio Confession Tales, among others.
As mentioned by fact-checking website Snopes, Jimmy has never interviewed the US Press Secretary on his eponymous show. They also confirmed there are no records of Karoline Leavitt ever appearing on the show’s official guest lineup. No video or still footage from such an episode is available either, as per the outlet.
According to the publication, all the YouTube videos also had generic narration and other signs of being computer-generated, such as unrealistic facial features of Kimmel and Leavitt, as well as the former showing six fingers in the StarTalk Diaries video.
Some videos even came with the disclaimer of "altered or synthetic content." Snopes thus concluded that they were made using artificial intelligence.
Likewise, on April 25, 2025, the Kaylow Official Facebook page shared collages of the US spokesperson and Kimmel, and claimed in the caption that the latter kicked off Leavitt after she exposed “bombshell secrets” and “chaos erupted on live television.”
“What started as a routine interview turned into a jaw-dropping confrontation as Leavitt fearlessly dropped revelations that left the studio stunned—and sent shockwaves across social media. Did she go too far? Or did she finally say what others have been too afraid to speak out loud?” it read.
“The fallout could be massive, and the secrets she exposed might just be the tipping point that brings Kimmel’s career to the brink. The full story is nothing short of explosive,” the caption ended.
In the comments, a link to the topnewsusnow.com website was given, where an article titled, “Karoline Leavitt Abruptly Removed from Jimmy Kimmel Live After Revealing Explosive Secrets That Could End His Career” discussed false and unverifiable details from the alleged interview.
Moreover, the story often misspelled the press secretary’s name as Caroline Levit among other tell-tale signs, proving that it was fabricated for satire or parody, and meant for virality and sensationalism.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s Special Assistant and Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields also refuted the viral claim and called it “fake news” in an email to Snopes, further disproving the rumor.
Last month, a similar rumor circulated online that Karoline Leavitt debated Stephen Colbert on his late-night show, which has since been debunked.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel roasted Donald Trump's first 100 days in office with a now-viral supercut. Leavitt has also been in the news for standing by the Trump administration and has drawn attention for issuing warnings to officials not to defy the POTUS' executive orders.
