Jimmy Kimmel’s audience saw a footage so wild during the show that it had to be banned from TV
Jimmy Kimmel once played a clip to his studio audience that absolutely couldn't be aired on national TV. In a February 2016 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' episode, the comedian welcomed controversial actor Sacha Baron Cohen as a guest. It was Cohen's first-ever appearance on the talk show, which came as the actor promoted his movie 'The Brothers Grimsby.' During the segment, Kimmel played a movie clip that had the studio in complete shock and disgust, followed by laughter. However, when the episode was posted on YouTube, the said clip was skipped and instead replaced by a snippet capturing the studio audience's reactions to the same.
In the YouTube video, Kimmel and Cohen were seen having a chat about the latter's movie which was released the same year. Subsequently, Kimmel informs Cohen that ABC might not permit him to air the movie clip he brought. "So we have a clip. It is unacceptable for broadcast television. We can show a few seconds," Kimmel told Cohen, according to The Things.
Shortly afterward, Kimmel notified Cohen that the makers of the show had allowed him to play the clip but with one condition. Kimmel revealed, "We can show the clip to our studio audience and then the home viewers can watch the studio audience watch the clip." Cohen wasn't very happy with the decision and expressed his disappointment over the same. He remarked, "You're saying I've come on this show for the first time in 12 years, and you're going to show the audience watching my clip, but the people at home will not be able to watch the clip... It's not okay, but it feels like I have no other option."
Kimmel went on to warn the studio audience before playing it for them. He said, "I've been instructed to warn our studio audience...That the scenes you're about to see are very graphic and potentially offensive. If you want to leave right now, you have the option of doing that. If you wanna leave during the clip, you may do that as well." As predicted, the crowd was horrified but eventually broke into laughter. In hindsight, it was a clever move by Cohen to promote his film. However, despite the effort, 'The Brothers Grimsby' failed to perform at the box office.
For those unversed, 'The Brothers Grimsby' is a spy action comedy film that revolves around a dimwitted man named Nobby (essayed by Cohen) who lives in a fishing town with his girlfriend Dawn Grobham (portrayed by Rebel Wilson) and their nine kids. For many years, Nobby has been looking for his long-lost brother Sebastian (played by Mark Strong). When the two brothers reunite, Nobby discovers his sibling is a top M16 agent. At the time of writing, 'The Brothers Grimsby' is available for streaming on a few platforms including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.