David Bianculli

And in the same monologue, Kimmel explained why he's made so much fun of Donald Trump.

The reason, Kimmel said, is because he hates bullies.

Being at the center of a significant and ongoing First Amendment battle is not what most people would have predicted of Jimmy Kimmel.

Not even, most likely, Kimmel himself.

He began on radio and first became known for his work on two Comedy Central TV programs—

One was the played-for- laughs game show Win Ben Stein's Money.

The other was the misogynistic The Man Show, a tongue-in-cheek talk show co-hosted with Adam Carolla.

He began hosting ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2003 following the long-established ABC News Nightline.

A decade later, in 2013, ABC flipped the time slots of those two programs.

That's when Jimmy Kimmel Live began airing at 11.35 on weeknights, the same time as his rival late-night talk shows on CBS and NBC.

And that's also when Jimmy Kimmel spoke to Terry Gross.

Given all the media and political attention given to Jimmy Kimmel this week and last, we thought this would be an opportune time to revisit that interview.

Jimmy Kimmel speaking to Terry Gross in 2013.

After a break, we'll continue their conversation.

Also, I'll review the new Netflix drama series The House of Guinness, and Justin Chang reviews One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

I'm David Bianculli, and this is Fresh Air.

Let's continue with more of Terry's 2013 conversation with Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC's recently suspended and even more recently reinstated late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

For most of the 20-plus years of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel has been relatively apolitical, or at least an equal-opportunity offender.

In the early years especially, he took a lighter approach, finding delight in certain silly guests and even in family members and co-workers whose everyday personalities genuinely amused him.

His current Jimmy Kimmel Live on-air sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, was the show's parking lot security guard.