Jimmy Kimmel Has a Bold Pick for Disney’s Next CEO

Jimmy Kimmel just waded into the who-comes-after-Bob-Iger conversation, and yes, he knows it is not exactly his lane. Still, he said who he would pick for Disney CEO if anyone asked: Dana Walden.

Where he said it

Kimmel dropped the name at the Bloomberg Screentime event while talking about the recent chaos around Disney. He acknowledged he probably should not be answering the question at all, then answered it anyway.

"It would be very foolish for me to answer that question, but I happen to love Dana Walden very much."

Why Dana Walden

Walden is the current Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, and Kimmel made it clear he trusts her judgment. He also said the last three weeks have been rough and "very unfair" to his bosses at Disney. He did not spell out exactly what he meant by that, but the point was: leadership got put in a lousy spot.

How Walden (and Iger) helped get Kimmel back on air

Kimmel credited both Walden and current Disney CEO Bob Iger with helping bring Jimmy Kimmel Live! back to TV. He said they had a lot of genuinely productive conversations while he was negotiating the show’s return. In his words, he basically torched Walden’s weekend with nonstop calls, but those talks helped him cool off, think things through, and understand where everyone else was coming from. He admitted he can be reactionary, so having that back-and-forth mattered.

One more headline-friendly nugget

Asked if he would host FCC chair Brendan Carr and/or Donald Trump, Kimmel said he would "love to have Trump on the show, for sure." He did not weigh in on Carr specifically.