Who is Sal Iacono to Jimmy Kimmel? Comedian and writer addresses ABC pulling the latter’s show

Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin, Sal Iacono, has shared his thoughts about the cancellation of the former’s show.

On September 21, Sal, who is also a comedian and writer, sat down on the episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, where they discussed the third week of the NFL season, among other topics. He said his family spent some time with Kimmel’s family, following what he called a “tumultuous” week.

Sal said his children found it weird to approach Kimmel. However, his middle son, Jack, told his uncle:

“Hey, some kids at school say it's not right what happened to you.”

Kimmel then asked his nephew what he told the other kids, and Jack replied that they were right about their opinion. Sal recalled:

“And Jimmy's like, ‘Well, next time tell them, I'm not too worried about what happens. My cousin Jimmy is an excellent dancer.’ And Jack was stonefaced taking it in. And nodded like, ‘Okay.’ And I guarantee tomorrow he's going to take this literally and say this to high schoolers.”

Other than this, Sal Iacono did not say much about the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s show. He said:

“I mean that’s all I have to say right now. I can't really say anything.”

Bill Simmons agreed that it would be better if they didn’t discuss it any further, although they knew too much. He also wished there would be a happy ending to all of it. Sal said they would be alright and everything would turn out fine. Simmons jokingly suggested that Jimmy Kimmel might want to be a pop-up chef.

Sal Iacono talks about visiting Jimmy Kimmel and his previous betting experiences

In 2021, Sal Iacono sat down on Jimmy Kimmel Live to discuss his book, You Can’t Lose Them All. Jokingly, Kimmel asked Sal if he “really” was his cousin, to which Sal replied:

“Yes, I think. How does it work? Your mother and my father are brother and sister.”

Kimmel said:

“Oh, that’s right, Okay.”

Jimmy Kimmel said Sal Iacono’s book was funny and filled with stories about their family, especially how gambling ran in their blood, mostly through the women. He explained that their grandmother treated playing bingo almost like a job.

When Sal asked why Kimmel didn’t inherit that habit and instead ended up hosting charity events, Kimmel said it might have been because he grew up in Las Vegas while Sal grew up in Long Island. He also remembered how their grandmother used to spend her afternoons and evenings at the Kingsway Theater in Brooklyn playing bingo every single day, with a break in between to cook dinner.

Speaking about vacations, Sal Iacono said:

“I would visit you from age 13 to 16 every summer. You were in Las Vegas. I'd visit your family and our cousin's, Aunt Sally, Mickey and Aunt Chippy's family and Uncle Frank.”

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Jimmy Kimmel asked Sal about the worst bet he had ever made. Sal said it happened during the Oscars that Kimmel hosted. He explained that being invited to the show should have been enough, but he decided to gamble on several categories like Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director.

Everything was going well until the Best Picture award. Iacono thought La La Land was going to win, but when Moonlight was announced as the winner, he lost the bet.

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