The late-night comedian opened his first show back after a nearly weeklong suspension with light-hearted jokes before getting serious.
LOS ANGELES — “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to late-night television Tuesday after a nearly weeklong suspension that triggered a national discussion about freedom of speech.
Kimmel, who had been publicly silent on his suspension, was welcomed by the audience chanting his name before he addressed the controversy in his opening monologue.
“As I was saying before I was interrupted,” he began, before making a joke about preempting “Celebrity Family Feud.”
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol. It’s been overwhelming,” Kimmel said. “I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people in the world over the last six days. Everyone I’ve ever met have reached out 10 or 11 times.”
Kimmel gave a shout-out to other late-night hosts who came to his defense, and noted that even late-night hosts from other countries reached out.
“The guy in Germany offered me a job,” he joked. “This country has become so authoritarian that even the Germans are like, ‘Come here!’”
Kimmel thanked the people who “made your voices heard so that mine could be heard,” then got serious — and emotional — as he addressed the comments that led to his suspension.
“You understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed asking compassion for his family, and I meant it. I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a a specific individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation were reversed, there’s a good chance I would’ve felt the same way.”
Kimmel criticized the ABC affiliates who took his show off the air. “That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s unAmerican.”
He thanked the people who supported him, and even people who doesn’t like him who stood up for his right to speak, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. “It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration. They did and they deserve credit for it.”
He again got emotional when praising Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, for forgiving the man accused of shooting and killing her husband.
“That is an example we should follow,” he said. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow, and it touched me deeply. If there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that.”
Kimmel breaks silence on social media
Hours before the show aired, Kimmel posted on Instagram for the first time since Sept. 15, the day he made comments in his opening monologue that led to his eventual suspension by ABC.
Kimmel shared a photo with Norman Lear, the legendary television writer and producer, with the caption “Missing this guy today.”
Lear created the classic sitcoms “All in the Family,” “Good Times, “The Jeffersons” and more. Kimmel worked with Lear on ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” specials in 2019, which featured all-star casts performing live recreations of classic sitcom episodes. Lear died in 2023 at 101 years old. Kimmel delivered an emotional tribute on his show after Lear’s death.
Lear was also known for his liberal activism, temporarily leaving television production in 1980 to focus on political advocacy. In 1981, he founded People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy organization created to counter the emerging religious right political movement.
Timeline of Kimmel’s suspension and reinstatement
ABC suspended the show “indefinitely” last Wednesday following comments Kimmel made about the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on his show two days prior. At the time, Disney-owned ABC did not offer an explicit explanation.
The suspension came after outcry about comments he made in his monologue. Kirk, a conservative political activist, was shot and killed Sept. 10 during an event on the Utah Valley University campus.
“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 in his monologue Monday.
Nexstar and Sinclair, which own dozens of ABC affiliates, said they would be pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from their stations. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said it appeared that Kimmel was trying to “directly mislead the American public” with his remarks about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man charged with Kirk’s killing, and his motives.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The suspension triggered a backlash from those who called it an attack on free speech. More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that said it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.” Consumers canceled Disney-owned streaming services in droves and called for boycotts as #CancelDisneyPlus, #DisneyBoycott and #CancelHulu trended on social media.
ABC then announced Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return after the network had “thoughtful conversations” with the host.
“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 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.”
Nexstar Media Group said Tuesday it would continue to preempt the show, “pending assurances that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.” Sinclair Broadcast Group also said it would also keep Kimmel off its stations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.