Jimmy Kimmel

Kimmel said he had thought of his performances as "impersonations of celebrities and nothing more".

But, looking back, he admitted they were "embarrassing" and described them as "thoughtless moments".

He said sorry "to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the make-up I wore or the words I spoke".

Kimmel fronts a late-night talk show on ABC and hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018.

He had been under pressure to address his past use of blackface, especially after fellow presenter Jimmy Fallon issued a similar apology last month.

But it was his ongoing faux-feud with Matt Damon that was truly worthy of gold Sunday night.

Kimmel kicked off his night of Damon torment with a nod to the actor -- who has long been a playful target of Kimmel's -- in his monologue.

"Tonight in the spirit of bringing people together, I would like to bury the hatchet with someone I've had issues with -- Matt Damon," he said. "Now, Matt, I've known Matt for a long time. I've known Matt so long, when I first met Matt, I was the fat one."

The burn was just the beginning.

And he'll be the first to admit he's a little nervous about it.

"It's something I was hoping to be asked to do, but I didn't necessarily ever want to do it," Kimmel said with a laugh in an interview Tuesday. "I know all the baggage that comes along with it and the work that comes along with it, and also the criticism that inevitably also comes along with it."

"I wanted to do it but I've also feared doing it -- and I still fear doing it." he told CNN.

Damon appeared in a "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" skit Monday night for another round of therapy. The stars have had a long-running feud because the late night host refuses to have Damon on the show as a guest.

"You invite me every day," The "Jason Bourne" star said. "You say I'm going to be on the show and I've never been on the show."

Kimmel's defense, as he builds a pillow wall to protect himself from Damon, is that he only has an hour and he simply runs out of time.