The 2026 ICG Publicists Awards will honor a person who made a few headlines this year.
The publicists of the International Cinematographers Guild said today that Jimmy Kimmel will receive the 2026 President’s Award in March — an honor presented only on occasion of “extraordinary circumstances.” The veteran late-night host and proud Donald Trump foil is being honored for his strength of character, his resilience, and his unwavering adherence to principle in the face of adversity, per ICG.
It will be the first time the President’s Award has been bestowed since 2017 and just the fifth this century.
“We’re thrilled to present this award to Jimmy Kimmel, whose return to the air meant so much to his audience and whose presence at the International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards means so much to us,” ICG National President John Lindley said. “He stood by his staff and crew during his suspension, and we celebrate his commitment to his work and to his team.”
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Kimmel, who has fronted ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, was at the center of the media universe in September when the network pulled his show “indefinitely” after his on-air comments about the killing of right-wing agitator Charlie Kirk. The suspension came hours after the country’s two largest station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, pulled JKL from their ABC affiliates.
After nearly a week of being dark, the show returned to ABC, though Nexstar and Sinclair would refuse to air it for another few days.
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Kimmel has hosted the Oscars four times and Emmys three times and is the longest-serving current late-night host on TV. He joins a list of past ICG President’s Award recipients that includes the late publicist and ALS activist Nanci Ryder (2017), former AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2015), longtime Entertainment Tonight EP Linda Bell Blue (2014) and the late game show host and animal rights activist Bob Barker (2007).
Kimmel will be feted during 63rd annual ICG Publicists Awards luncheon on March 13, the Friday before the 98th Academy Awards, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The publicists of ICG, IATSE Local 600, will reveal their television nominations on December 10, followed by the motion picture noms on January 14. The annual awards celebrate Local 600 publicists, unit still photographers, outstanding publicity campaigns for TV and film and the year’s best entertainment journalists.
