Jimmy Kimmel started the photo album for his upcoming vacation with Magic Johnson years ago.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host, who is once again taking the summer off, will soon embark on a superyacht trip with NBA great—one he’s been aspiring to for years now.
Vacationing with Johnson might best be described as an obsession for Kimmel, who’s been photoshopping himself into Johnson’s social media vacation photos, when he presented the athlete with some example images during an interview on JKL.
The host made sure to keep up the gambit with a ton of doctored images over the subsequent summers—plus an October 2023 NFL game that placed the duo alongside Taylor Swift.
Kimmel pleaded directly to Johnson for an invite when the hoops legend guested on JKL in June 2024, unveiling matching “Vacation 2024” shirts that featured the pair photoshopped together on a jet ski.
His relentless efforts finally paid off a few months later, when the Johnson used another appearance to spring a surprise invite on the host. “I’m inviting you and your wife to go on a yacht next summer with us,” Johnson said, handing Kimmel a giant invitation made out to him and his wife, Molly McNearney. (The two couples would be joined, Johnson said, by Samuel L. Jackson and wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson.)
“I’m almost near tears,” a stunned Kimmel told him.
As Kimmel counts down to his dream vacation becoming a reality, you can review all of his imagined prior outings in the slideshow below:
