NEWSRobert De Niro Brings a Baseball Bat and a Mobbed-Up FCC Chairman to 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'
Robert De Niro surprised Jimmy Kimmel with a baseball bat during his Brooklyn broadcast.
Oct. 10 2026, Published 9:29 a.m. ET
Robert De Niro walked into Jimmy Kimmel Live! carrying a baseball bat on September 30, turning a Federal Communications Commission dispute into a mob inspection.
The surprise appearance came during Kimmel’s week of broadcasts from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The host recalled that his previous New York visit followed what he jokingly called the show’s “unexpected FCC vacation week.”
“And while I would like to say that things have improved over the last year, they haven’t really,” Kimmel said. “We are still being threatened by the FCC.”
A ‘Routine Inspection’ Comes With a Bat
Robert De Niro reprised his mob-style portrayal of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
That brought out De Niro, 83, playing FCC Chairman Brendan Carr as a mob boss.
“Who is threatening you?” De Niro asked while prodding Kimmel’s stomach with the bat. “Am I threatening you? Do you feel threatened by me?”
“A little, yeah,” Kimmel replied.
The sketch mocked the FCC dispute through Robert De Niro’s threatening routine with Jimmy Kimmel.
De Niro’s Carr said he was conducting a “routine inspection” to ensure Kimmel was following the terms of ABC’s broadcast license.
The portrayal played on the actor’s long history of mob roles, including young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II and Al Capone in The Untouchables.
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Trump Insults Require Compliments
Robert De Niro imposed a fictional rule requiring Jimmy Kimmel to compliment Donald Trump after insults.
Kimmel was presented with a dossier documenting “192 instances” of him mocking President Donald Trump’s appearance.
De Niro read through nicknames including “Mar-a-Lardo,” “Benito Gasolini” and “Captain Cankle-roo” before announcing a new requirement: “Every time you insult the president, you’ve got to follow it with something nice.”
When Kimmel accused Carr of trying “to control what I do and do not say by abusing the power of the federal government,” De Niro replied, “Finally, you got it.”
“Now you’re starting to understand,” he added.
Natalie Harp Joins the Inspection
Molly McNearney joined the sketch as Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp during the inspection.
Executive producer and co-head writer Molly McNearney, Kimmel’s wife, briefly joined the sketch as Trump aide Natalie Harp, reprising the impression she debuted during an earlier monologue.
De Niro first played his mobbed-up version of Carr in September 2025, when Kimmel returned following his six-day suspension. That appearance responded to the real Carr saying broadcasters could handle their dispute with Kimmel “the easy way or the hard way.”
The latest inspection ended with De Niro warning Kimmel to “be good” before announcing he had to go downtown “to put a fire out at ABC News.”
“What’s going on?” Kimmel asked.
De Niro replied: “I started a fire at ABC News.”
