“Disney Has Asked Me To Read The Following Statement”: Jimmy Kimmel Revealed The 1 “Condition” For His Return To TV
Kimmel’s monologue included many notable moments, and this one really stood out.
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Jimmy Kimmel joked that his return to television after being suspended last week by corporate parent Disney had at least one string attached.
“A lot of people have been asking me if there are conditions for my return to the air, and there is one,” he said on Tuesday, his first night back after the company put his show on hiatus over comments he made about the suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination.
The suspension caused celebration on the right ― including from President Donald Trump ― and outrage among his fans, many of whom canceled their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions in protest.
That led to the supposed “condition” on his return.
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“Disney has asked me to read the following statement, and I’ve agreed to do it,” he said. “Here we go: To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account, open the Disney+ app on your smart TV or TV-connected device.”
After the joke, Kimmel got serious, saying he’s been “fortunate” to be allowed to do what he’s wanted on the air for 23 years, even when it’s made the company uncomfortable.
“Every night, they’ve defended my right to poke fun at our leaders and to advocate for subjects that I think are important by allowing me to use their platform. And I am very grateful for that,” Kimmel said. “With that said, I was not happy when they pulled me off the air on Wednesday.”
That led to some conversations with the company ― and his return to TV, where he went right back to making the same kinds of jokes about the president that he’s always made.
He praised Disney, saying they didn’t have to do it.
“This is a giant company. We have short attention spans, and I am a tiny part of the Disney corporation,” he said. “They welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that because I know that, unfortunately, and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk.”
Indeed, after he finished taping the show ― but before it aired ― Trump attacked him and threatened legal action against the company.
Trump, Kimmel said, wants everyone who works at the show to lose their jobs.
“Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,” Kimmel said.
He added that he hopes his audience speaks out “10 times as loud” in support of whoever Trump targets next.
“We have to speak out against this because he’s not stopping,” Kimmel warned.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.