Less than a week after being taken off the air for comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Jimmy Kimmel himself are returning to television. “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” Disney, ABC’s parent company, said in a statement. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Last week, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be suspended after Kimmel made remarks about Kirk’s killer during a monologue that conservatives deemed insensitive. “We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his monologue.
A fairly soft blow, even for late night, but Kimmel’s characterization of Tyler Robinson, Kirk’s suspected killer, as MAGA really riled up the most vocal right-wing influencers and politicians. Podcaster Benny Johnson hosted FCC chair Brendan Carr on his show, and Carr characterized Kimmel’s comments as “truly sick” and said his agency had a “strong case” for revoking ABC’s broadcast license. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said.
ABC quickly yanked Kimmel off the air, replacing his show that night with Celebrity Family Feud. Sinclair, the country’s largest ABC affiliate, demanded that Kimmel “issue a direct apology to the Kirk family” and “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.” They also noted that even if Kimmel was brought back to ABC, they would not air him unless they were “confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.” After Disney announced Kimmel’s return, Sinclair said it would be preempting the show on its ABC channels, replacing it with news programming. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the company shared in a statement.
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While Kimmel was getting berated by conservatives, his showbiz friends stuck up for him when news of his suspension broke. His fellow late night hosts all showed support not only for Kimmel but for their First Amendment right to say whatever they want on their shows without being threatened by the FCC. Marvel stars Marisa Tomei and Tatiana Maslany both encouraged people to cancel any Disney-owned subscriptions, such as Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN. Sarah McLachlan and Jewel reportedly canceled their performances at the premiere of Hulu’s Lilith Fair documentary with McLachlan citing a desire to “stand in solidarity in support of free speech.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, and Tom Hanks, signed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union that stated Kimmel’s suspension and all other attempts from the government to silence its citizens run “counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.”
