Rob Ford says he knew he was “going into a lion’s den” when he walked onto the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

But just back from Hollywood, Toronto’s celebrity mayor says he has no regrets about his appearance broadcast on Monday evening.

“Was it a tough interview? Sure it was but he (Kimmel) has a job to do, that’s his job. I haven’t seen one of his shows that he doesn’t take shots at people,” Ford said after arriving back at city hall on Tuesday around 1 p.m.

“I held my own and I got my message out that I’ve saved taxpayers’ money, all my achievements. I wish I had more time to promote Toronto.”

Over three segments, Kimmel asked Ford tough questions about domestic abuse, drunk driving, his drinking, and his ongoing feud with the police chief. At one point, he walked the mayor over to a TV monitor and played some of the most infamous Ford videos, including a clip where the mayor threatened to kill someone and the clip at Steak Queen .

Ford denied he felt embarrassed, shrugging off the videos as “old news.”

Nor was he caught off guard by any questions.

“No, not at all, going through you guys, if you can survive the Toronto media you can survive anything so …that was a walk in the park compared to you guys.”

Ford also brushed aside Kimmel’s suggestion that he seek advice for substance abuse.

“I don’t have any personal issues. We’ve gone down that road a number of times,” he said, adding he planned to “hit the gym” after work despite being sleep-deprived following an overnight flight from Los Angeles.

Ford said he met many nice people in Hollywood. “I met the movers and shakers of the movie industry and a lot of them knew about TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) believe it or not some didn’t know it.”

His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, also defended his brother’s performance, saying the audience was laughing “with him” not at him.

“I think Rob did a fabulous job,” Ford said Tuesday morning, hours after the Toronto Sun reported the mayor felt “set-up” by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

“The only thing we were disappointed about... We wanted to pump Toronto more.”

Kimmel has been trying to convince Ford to come on his show since last summer. This past weekend, after a personal call from Kimmel, the Ford brothers relented. Rob, Doug and the eldest Randy, who currently runs the family business, Deco Labels, made the trip to Los Angeles along with some members of the mayor’s staff.

Kimmel greeted them at the airport and prior to the interview, the Fords told media how nice the host seemed. But the interview didn’t seem to go as planned. At city hall Tuesday, councillors said the mayor embarrassed the city.

“The joke is on the mayor,” said Councillor Shelley Carroll.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly said he hadn’t seen the interview, but it seemed like Ford was getting caught up in his own celebrity.

Mobile users :

Here is what Councillor Doug Ford said on KISS 92.5's Roz and Mocha show Tuesday, after Mayor Rob Ford appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Click the links below to listen:

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