Jimmy Kimmel's inner circle fears THIS 'will destroy him'

It is being reported that Jimmy Kimmel is emotionally overwhelmed after the loss of his fast friend and longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo.

For those unaware, Escobedo passed away due to cardiogenic shock, “stemming from complications after a liver transplant,” at the age of 59 on November 11, 2025.

Other factors that contributed to his death were alcoholic cirrhosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation, as per Wikipedia.

An insider close to the 58-year-old American television host and comedian told Radar Online that he is under significant emotional strain, which might affect him.

The source said, "Jimmy is spiraling. He's known Cleto since he was just a kid and he never expected him to be gone this soon.”

“It's got Jimmy facing his own mortality and questioning everything. He's in a very dark place,” they stated.

Notably, Kimmel lost Escobedo in less than two months after ABC suspended his show for a week because of his remarks on the murder of right wing activist Charlie Kirk.

"Jimmy got back on the air, so a lot of people assume that he's moved past this and is feeling like a champ, but that's not the case. He feels very beaten down,” the insider said. “He's used to people not liking him, but the level of hate was more than he ever anticipated. He was getting death threats. No one should have to endure that.”

The source went on to warn that "Jimmy is tired, and he's grieving, and he's completely burned out. You can see just by looking at him that he's barely holding it together.”

"People in his life are begging him to step back from the show before the job eats him alive. They're terrified that if he doesn't make a change soon, the stress will destroy him. He's never been this down,” concluded the insider.