Jimmy Kimmel Called Adam Carolla His ‘Life Partner’ at the Walk of Fame — and Cried

Adam Carolla got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday — his 62nd birthday — and Jimmy Kimmel showed up and cried.

Kimmel, who was one of two presenters alongside Dr. Drew Pinsky, delivered a speech that went places. He called Carolla his “life partner” from the podium at the ceremony, then addressed the obvious reaction head-on: “If that sounds gay to you, it was and it is.” The crowd laughed. Kimmel also teared up, visibly emotional while talking about how proud he was of his longtime collaborator.

The two go back to 1994. Kimmel was working on Kevin and Bean, the morning show on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, when Carolla — then making his living as a boxing instructor and construction worker — called in. He’d been brought on to train Kimmel for a boxing match. The first time Carolla was put on air, Kimmel said, the reaction was immediate. Carolla never really left after that.

What followed was one of the more unlikely run of collaborations in early-2000s comedy. Carolla and Kimmel, with partner Daniel Kellison, co-created and starred in Comedy Central’s The Man Show, which ran from 1999 to 2003 and became a cult touchstone of a particular era of guy humor. They also co-created Crank Yankers, the puppet-based prank call show. Carolla had already been co-hosting Loveline on radio and MTV with Dr. Drew Pinsky — which is why Pinsky was also on stage Wednesday.

Carolla, 62, has spent the years since building what became one of the most-downloaded podcasts in the country. He arrived at the Walk of Fame as a genuine media institution — starting from a background as a Southern California construction worker and KROQ fixture known as “Mr. Birchum,” a gruff shop teacher character he played on air.

His own speech had a different energy than Kimmel’s. Carolla reportedly took shots at Chelsea Handler during his remarks and got in some gentle digs at Kimmel — the two have grown politically apart over the years, something TMZ noted, with Carolla having distanced himself from the progressive positions Kimmel has become associated with. But none of that was what the day was about, and neither of them made it so. Kimmel showed up, gave the speech, and cried. That was the story.