Jimmy Kimmel's son helped mend Jay Leno rift

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Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno have ended their lengthy feud.

The late night host told The Hollywood Reporter that it was the birth of his infant son that broke the silence between the two men.

"Jay and I have made peace. After my son had his operation, he called me and he was very nice."

Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Kimmel's son, William John, was born with a heart defect that required emergency surgery.

Looking back, Kimmel said the rivalry happened out of his love for David Letterman, who was in direct late night competition with Leno.

"You have to remember how much I love David Letterman. When all that stuff happened, I was just a fan, reading Bill Carter's book [1994's The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night.] and there was a villain and a hero, and Dave was the hero and Jay was the villain. I started off with a negative feeling about it. I sometimes insert myself into situations I have no business inserting myself into."

But Kimmel has softened his stance on Leno since the kind-hearted phone call.

"You can't argue with [Leno's] success and his longevity. I will say, when I was in high school and college, he was one of my all-time favorite comics."