Jimmy Kimmel sure knows how to “spark” some birthday chaos.
Earlier this week, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host pulled a prank on his Aunt Chippy—who was previously married to Kimmel’s Uncle Frank for 28 years—in celebration of her 85th birthday. He took to Instagram to share video of his aunt lighting a trick cigarette, which then “exploded.”
“Last night, on the eve of my Aunt Chippy’s 85th birthday, a cigarette exploded in her face,” Kimmel wrote in the caption. “Thank goodness she is OK. Please, please be careful when leaving cigarettes around your nephew. And happy bday AC.”
Chippy playfully called Kimmel a “son of a b*tch” in the video, flustered by her nephew’s antics. “I knew it!” she cried out amid laughter in the background. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You ruined the whole night. Little a*shole.”
This is hardly the first time the late-night host has messed with his aunt. Kimmel and his Cousin Sal—who’s been a writer on Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003—have pulled all kinds of pranks on her throughout the show’s run.
“From time to time, we like to include my Aunt Chippy in on the fun,” Kimmel said in a segment. “We’ve pulled many a shenanigan on her over the years. Somehow we always manage to squeeze one more out.”
Aunt Chippy’s popularity extends beyond Jimmy Kimmel Live! In September 2023, she made a special appearance on ABC’s The Golden Bachelor—she briefly chatted with Gerry Turner and later fell asleep during the rose ceremony. Kimmel was seemingly the one to make the cameo happen. “I was curious,” Chippy said of Turner. “I said to my nephew, he’s gotta be one in a million, I want to meet him.”
Some of Kimmel’s fans have even called for Chippy to be the face of ABC’s upcoming spinoff, The Golden Bachelorette. “I’m still disappointed she isn’t the golden bachelorette!!” one Instagram commenter wrote. “Come on Jimmy!!”
Kimmel is set to return to Jimmy Kimmel Live! September 3rd after taking the summer off.
