Jimmy Kimmel left the Emmy Awards ceremony after becoming emotional during the In Memoriam tribute to his late friend Cleto Escobedo III. A trip to the restroom soon took an unexpected turn involving Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
Kimmel said he was washing his hands when he noticed McConaughey standing beside him at a urinal. The actor saw that Kimmel was upset, asked whether he was okay and listened as the late-night host explained why he had stepped away from the ceremony.
McConaughey then turned from the urinal and gave Kimmel a warm hug. Kimmel eventually realized the actor’s penis was still out of his pants and asked him about it, a story he recounted during Woody Harrelson’s Sept. 21 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, according to People.
Harrelson happened to be inside one of the bathroom stalls and emerged during the encounter. He joined Kimmel and McConaughey for another hug in the hallway afterward.
McConaughey Turned From the Urinal and Hugged Kimmel
Kimmel told Harrelson that McConaughey immediately noticed something was wrong when they encountered each other in the restroom during the Sept. 14 Emmys.
“He’s like, ‘Hey, you okay?’” Kimmel recalled. After hearing what had happened, McConaughey turned toward him and offered a hug without first finishing at the urinal.
“He gives me a very nice hug, hugs me very warmly,” Kimmel said during the ABC interview.
After remaining in the embrace for a moment, Kimmel asked, “Is your penis out?”
“Yes it is,” he recalled McConaughey answering.
Kimmel said McConaughey then joked that he was going to rub it against him, turning what had started as an attempt to comfort his friend into a much stranger Emmy-night memory.
Woody Harrelson Walked Out of the Stall During the Hug
Harrelson had heard enough of the conversation from inside a stall to understand why Kimmel was upset, but he emerged to find the two men still embracing.
Kimmel asked whether McConaughey ever explained what Harrelson had just witnessed or whether his longtime friend simply left him to draw his own conclusions.
Harrelson joked that he tries not to “grade or critique” what other people are doing and decided that whatever was happening between them was their business.
Once they were outside the restroom, Harrelson joined Kimmel and McConaughey for a group hug after hearing about Escobedo.
Kimmel said the bizarre interaction helped change his mood during an otherwise painful part of the evening. He added that Escobedo “would’ve loved that very much.”
Kimmel Had Left the Emmys After Seeing Cleto Escobedo in the Tribute
Escobedo, Kimmel’s childhood friend and longtime Jimmy Kimmel Live! bandleader, died on Nov. 11, 2025, at age 59.
Kimmel had known him since they were children in Las Vegas. Following Escobedo’s death, the host described the musician as a “great friend, father, son, musician and man” and said the two had been inseparable since Kimmel was 9.
Escobedo was included in the In Memoriam segment at the 78th Emmy Awards, prompting Kimmel to leave the ceremony when he became overwhelmed.
Harrelson’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! came two days before the premiere of Brothers, his new Apple TV comedy with McConaughey. The longtime friends star as fictionalized versions of themselves whose relationship is disrupted when they discover they might actually be brothers.
Apple released the first two episodes on Sept. 23, with the remaining six scheduled to arrive weekly through Nov. 4.