After being roasted on a late-night talk show watched by millions, Toronto’s embattled mayor insists he held his own and he accomplished what he set out to do in his interview with Jimmy Kimmel.

The grilling Rob Ford received from the host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was described as a public humiliation, but the mayor told reporters Tuesday he expected a tough interview and he doesn’t think he came off looking bad.

“I knew I was going into a lion’s den and I held my own,” Ford said outside his office at city hall. “I got my message out that I saved taxpayers money.”

Ford said he was also there to convince tourists and filmmakers to come to Toronto.

"I was out there to promote the city of Toronto and I did a good job if you ask me," Ford said. "They’re coming. You mark my words, they’re going to be coming up here.”

Near the end of the interview, Kimmel suggested Ford should seek help for any substance abuse issues he may have, a moment the mayor downplayed.

“You know what? I don’t have any personal issues," Ford said. "We’ve gone down that road a number of times.”

Ford joined Kimmel for three segments, receiving more face time than most actors and pop stars are typically afforded, and he managed to slip in mentions of Toronto and his record when he wasn’t being ridiculed by the host.

When Ford tried to talk Toronto, Kimmel countered with a one-liner or a question that set up another zinger, and the verbal flogging overshadowed anything Ford mentioned about the city. The mayor was red-faced and sweating, and he appeared to be annoyed at times.

Ford spent most of the interview being skewered Kimmel, especially when he was pressed to address drug use allegations and explain his actions in several embarrassing videos, including his rant in Jamaican patois at Steak Queen.

In his interview at city hall Tuesday, Ford shrugged it all off and said he's already addressed everything that Kimmel pressed him on. He thinks Torontonians are "sick and tired" of hearing about his personal life and they want to move on to other issues.

"People are becoming numb to all this stuff," the mayor said.

I never apologized to Ford, Kimmel says

Coun. Doug Ford told the media Tuesday that Kimmel apologized following the show for being so hard on his brother.

But that’s not what the talk show host said.

"For the record, I did NOT apologize,” Kimmel tweeted Tuesday evening. “But Toronto Mayor Rob Ford did want more time to promote Toronto and I will make good on that tonight."

No specific information on how Kimmel planned to promote the city on his show was provided.

Doug Ford denies ever saying Kimmel apologized.

Councillors not happy with interview

Ford's appearance was an obvious topic of discussion at city hall, where several council members said the interview didn't do Toronto any favours.

"This is not a light-hearted, fun joke anymore," said Coun. Shelley Carroll. "It’s a painful joke and we’re at a point now where the joke is on the mayor. Jimmy Kimmel had a lot of fun and got a lot of ratings poking fun at the mayor but we as a city really need to give our heads a shake and ask ourselves because come October, this becomes a joke on us, internationally speaking."

Coun. John Parker said Ford’s appearance did more to raise Kimmel’s profile than anything else.

Parker has doubts about whether Ford accomplished his goal of promoting Toronto to tourists and filmmakers.

“In his own lights I’m sure he did but I’m not sure that’s the kind of diplomacy a government wants to put out to the surrounding world,” Parker told CP24 reporter Jackie Crandles.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly worries the attention is hurting Toronto’s reputation and interfering with economic opportunities.

“For the first time in the business world I’m hearing business leaders begin to worry about the possible impact of his image on investors looking at doing business in Toronto," Kelly told CP24. “Toronto’s image, up until now, has been not only a safe place and enjoyable place (and) a place of opportunity but almost a calm, rational context within which to do business, and (Ford has) introduced, I don’t know how to describe it, a zaniness, an unpredictability that challenges what people have assumed were the basic values of Torontonians.”

Doug Ford ignores bad reviews

The mayor's brothers, Doug and Randy, accompanied him to the interview in Los Angeles, where they attended an Oscars after-party, paid an unannounced visit to council members at city hall and strolled along the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Even though Ford's appearance on Kimmel's show was widely panned, Coun. Doug Ford declared the interview and the entire trip a success.

He claimed "a lot" of the show was scripted.

“Jimmy Kimmel, nice guy but compared to the Toronto media that was like a church picnic,” Doug Ford told reporters Tuesday morning, a few hours after the Fords returned from Los Angeles on a red-eye flight. “A lot of that was scripted. We knew it was a nightly show. Sure, there was (sic) some hardball questions but I have a lot of American friends, a lot of people from Toronto called up, and the Americans that aren’t as biased with the media down there said, ‘Hey, this guy’s real.’ ‘I’d love to have him as my neighbour,’ one person said.’”

Doug Ford downplayed Kimmel's advice to seek personal help.

“That was Jimmy’s opinion and we can respect that," the councillor said. "I think everyone has seen in this city Rob’s looking very healthy. As we were crawling out of bed, Rob was down at the hotel at 6:30, 7 o'clock working out for two hours for the two days we were there.”

The Fords have been criticized for heading to Los Angeles without a delegation from Toronto’s film industry or co-ordinating the trip with the city’s film office.

Doug Ford claimed the brothers went alone because they didn’t want to waste taxpayers’ money.

“We went down there on our own dime,” he said.

Councillors jab Ford over suit

Council members also had a few digs at Ford's outfit - a black suit with a matching red tie and handkerchief. The outfit caught the attention of Kimmel, who asked Ford why he was dressed like a magician.

Kelly said he missed the interview and doesn’t know what was discussed, but he noticed a few clips that were replayed on local television Tuesday morning.

“The only thing I can comment on is (Ford’s) attire, which was surprising considering that Toronto is the fashion capital of Canada,” Kelly told reporters at city hall.

Rob Ford told reporters he picked the outfit.

"I did my own wardrobe," the mayor said.

Ford has been targeted by late night comics for months over his crack cocaine admission and his antics. After being the butt of jokes, the mayor finally agreed to be a guest on one of the shows, choosing to appear on Kimmel's program.

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