Jimmy Kimmel’s gift could use some improvement.
On Thursday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the host gave Tim Allen an early birthday present after he expressed interest in owning a “real tank,” like Jay Leno, who “got a tank from the Syrian president.”
After opening a book about tanks, the soon-to-be 73-year-old said, “Oh, look at this!”
“I couldn’t provide tanks because I don’t know the Syrian president like Jay Leno,” Kimmel explained, citing Allen’s false story.
But Allen couldn’t hide his disappointment for long, telling Kimmel bluntly, “I have to be honest: I hate these books.”
The “Shifting Gears” star appreciated the act, but explained that he’s not a fan of coffee table books and doesn’t have time to look through them.
But he kept the book because it contained several images of tanks he had never seen.
The “Home Improvement” actor claimed that the Syrian president gifted Leno a military vehicle, but in reality it was Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
In May, the former talk show host revealed on Spikes Car Radio that Abdullah was registered as an “arms dealer” because he had a “royal jet” taken off a military tank and Leno was “bringing in heavy equipment.”
Allen recently said that becoming a father was not part of his plans when he was a child.
“I really didn’t want to be a father,” he told US Weekly. “We joke about it on stage, but I was never a real fan of the kid.”
He has a daughter, Catherine, 37, with his first wife, Laura Daybell, and a daughter, Elizabeth, 17, with his current wife, Jane Haiduk.
Allen went on to add that there is no manual for parenting and that it is a “work in progress.”
The “Wild Hogs” star confessed that Hajduk, 59, wanted to share their five children. “We’ll learn from the first two.”
“In Kate’s case, I was away from home a lot, so her mother did most of the childcare,” Allen continued. “I come from a (family) of seven boys and two girls, but the environment with girls is a completely different world for me. I have a different perspective on what makes a strong woman.”
The father-of-two also admitted that he has “very little interest” in “girl stuff” like clothes and gossip, focusing instead on “learning about money and learning how to take care of yourself, and that works for both boys and girls.”
The star also addressed his sobriety, detailing that he was not sober during Catherine’s formative years.
“I made amends with her. With a young girl, I realized how different it was from my almost 30 years of sobriety,” Allen told the magazine. “She didn’t know about this guy at all. I thought about it a lot and talked to Kate about it, but she didn’t object to me.”
At age 25, the cartoonist was arrested on drug trafficking charges in Michigan and spent two years in prison.
The sitcom star later got sober and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood.
In 1997, he was arrested for drunk driving while appearing on Home Improvement.
He pleaded guilty and was ordered to undergo counseling sessions, but chose to enter a rehabilitation facility instead.
“I’ve been drug-free and alcohol-free for about 22 years,” Allen said on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in 2020.
“Because I had money and because I was a star, people helped me and made it possible for me to get by. The program that I follow, you have to let go as soon as you get it. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a daily thing. You have to repeat it every day.”
If you or a loved one is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
