There is work, and then there is work you do with your best friend, the kind that turns long hours into shared jokes and press tours into entertainment. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been deep in that sweet spot lately, promoting their upcoming Netflix film The RIP alongside Teyana Taylor.

The trio has been everywhere, riding the easy chemistry that comes from decades of friendship and mutual trust. Yet in one recent appearance, the spotlight unexpectedly shifted, from brotherhood to beef.

The feud, of course, being his legendary on-again, off-again antagonism with Jimmy Kimmel. And if there is one constant in this saga, it is Ben Affleck standing nearby, half-amused, half-resigned, playing reluctant mediator as Damon happily reopens old wounds.

“It’s a long story.” Matt Damon says it casually at the tail end of a chaotic promo video posted by Netflix on X, where Damon, Ben Affleck, and Teyana Taylor are playing a game of ripping things apart to promote The Rip. Moments earlier, Damon had pulled out a photo of Jimmy Kimmel.

Holding up the picture, Damon announces, “Oh guys this is gonna be a really good moment for me.”

He then proceeds to rip the photo apart, once, and then again, going back for doubles. Meanwhile Teyana Taylor, visibly confused, asks the question everyone else is thinking: “Why are we ripping Jimmy Kimmel?” 

That is when Damon delivers the explanation, or lack thereof, that has fueled a pop-culture bit for nearly two decades.

“Oh, it’s a long story,” says Damon.

The moment instantly went viral, joining a growing list of unscripted highlights from The Rip press run. From playful chaos to Affleck bullying Damon about his physique, the promotions have produced multiple meme-ready clips, proving that the real marketing engine here is familiarity. 

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Matt Damon’s animosities are just as deep as his friendships. And the one with Jimmy Kimmel stretches way back, almost two decades. So what really started it?

The truth is less scandal, more comedy history. The 'feud' began in 2005, as a throwaway gag on the third season of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, when Kimmel repeatedly ended his show by apologizing to Damon for running out of time. But Damon was never even booked.

When Damon finally appeared, the joke escalated, cutting him off mid-interview and pretending the rivalry was real.

Since then, both men have committed fully to the bit. Fake insults, staged walk-offs, Oscars callouts, red carpet jabs, it has never officially ended because that is the joke. The feud survives precisely because both parties refuse to resolve it. What is even funnier is, Ben Affleck plays along with it as the mediator between Damon and Kimmel. 

And now, years later, it lives on in Netflix promos, shredded photographs, and Ben Affleck’s weary sighs. Some feuds fade. This one, like all great pop culture running gags, simply evolves.

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What do you think? Is the Damon-Kimmel feud one of Hollywood’s greatest long-running jokes? Share your thoughts.