Jimmy Kimmel’s return to air Tuesday night included laughs as well as saddness.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was back after Kimmel was suspended last weeks after comments he made about the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours — me, or the CEO of Tylenol,” Kimmel said as he started his monologue after he was greeted with a standing ovation, NPR reported
He may have started with a joke, but Kimmel became serious as he talked about Kirk’s murder on Sept. 10.
“I’ve been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight,” Kimmel said. “And the truth is, I don’t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference … I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind.”
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he continued.
Kimmel said it was understandable people were outraged by what he said last Monday. He added, however, the importance of the First Amendment and freedom of speech.
“This show isn’t important — what’s important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” he said.
He stated Disney was taking a risk my bringing the show back after the five-day suspension because President Donald Trump “can’t take a joke.”
“We have to speak out against it.”
Trump himself went on Truth Social to comment on Kimmel’s return as well as warn ABC.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
Trump also suggested further legal action against ABC, which airs the show.
“He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars,” Trump added. “This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
ABC and Disney suspended Kimmel last Wednesday “after the Trump administration took issue with his comments about the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing,” per NPR.
“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 last Monday on his show.
Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, did not like that Kimmel said the shooter was a MAGA conservative.
Carr encouraged local stations to refuse to run “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Sinclair Broadcast Group, both of which operate ABC stations said they were both preempting the show even through the suspension was lifted.
