Jimmy Kimmel returned to his late-night show after a suspension over comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
During his monologue, Kimmel thanked supporters of free speech and clarified he did not intend to make light of the killing.
ABC’s suspension of the show drew backlash, including a boycott of Disney+ and an open letter of support signed by over 400 celebrities.
Kimmel is back, but not on TV everywhere.
“As I was saying before I was interrupted…” the Emmy-award-winning late night talk show host said Sept. 23 to a roaring audience.
Kimmel returned to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” nearly a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made over the killing of Charlie Kirk. But not everyone got to see it, with multimedia groups controlling a quarter of the ABC affiliates in the United States, including several in Florida, promising to preempt it with local programming.
During an emotional 18-minute monologue Sept. 23, Kimmel thanked the support he had received, his fellow late-night hosts, and credited some of his enemies (including frequent target Sen. Ted Cruz) for speaking up in favor of free speech despite disagreeing with what he said.
First, though, he played the part of Cruz’s podcast when he said, “I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired.”
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“Oh, wait, no, not that, the other part,” Kimmel said to audience laughter, before running the rest of the clip where Cruz criticized any government that banned speech it didn’t like.
“Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects,” Kimmel said, “some of the things they say even make me wanna throw up, it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did, and they deserve credit for it.”
He stressed, with a broken voice, that he had no intentions “to make light of the murder of a young man” or to blame any specific group “for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.” He also praised Erika Kirk for publicing forgiving the man who shot and killed her husband.
“A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow, and it touched me deeply,” he said. “And it touches many. If there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, and not this.”
Kimmel also spoke out against President Donald Trump, calling him a “bully” and his administration “anti-American” for trying to control the news and silence people, even comedians.
“Let’s stop letting these politicians tell us what they want and tell them what we want,:” he said.
Jimmy Kimmel return follows outcry over ABC suspension
ABC “indefinitely” suspended host Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show on Sept. 17 following comments Kimmel made on a Sept. 15 episode regarding the fatal shooting of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk and apparent threats against ABC parent company Disney and network affiliates made by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr.
The backlash from fans, celebrities and politicians and accusations of government censorship was swift. A nationwide boycott led to a surge in Disney+ subscription cancellations, and support for Kimmel from numerous politicians and celebrities including more than 400 stars, including A-listers like Jennifer Aniston and Tom Hanks, who signed a letter in support of Kimmel.
Other late-night hosts piled on, with John Oliver devoting his show Sunday night to the “laughably weak” reasoning behind Kimmel’s suspension and Stephen Colbert calling it “blatant censorship.”
Disney announced Sept. 22 that Kimmel’s show would return. Multimedia conglomerates Sinclair and Nexstar, though, said they would still not air Kimmel’s show on their ABC affiliates.
Kimmel addressed the question of whether Disney had any conditions for his return.
“There is one,” he said. “Disney has asked me to read the following statement, and I agreed to do it [removes a sheet of paper from his breast pocket]. Here we go:
“To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account, open the Disney+ app on your smart TV or TV-connected device.”
Watch Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue
Sinclair, Nexstar stations to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Many viewers tuning in Tuesday night saw something different.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, a multimedia conglomerate considered to be politically conservative, told USA TODAY on Monday that “beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming.”
Nexstar Media Group also said its 32 ABC affiliates 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,” the Associated Press reported.
The two corporations together control about 25% of all ABC affiliates in the U.S., including several stations in Florida. Nexstar, which was quick to announce it was preempting Kimmel last week within hours of the FCC head’s Carr’s comments, is currently seeking regulatory changes and approval from the Trump administration for a reported $6.2 billion merger.
Trump threatens to sue ABC again
Less than an hour before Kimmel returned to the airwaves, Trump seemingly threatened to sue ABC for bringing him back.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social. “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 said. He also called Kimmel “another arm” of the Democratic National Committee and said that ABC airing the show would be considered a “major Illegal Campaign Contribution.”
Trump also referenced the last time he and ABC butted heads. The network agreed in December to a $15 million settlement over the president’s lawsuit against ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos over questions regarding E. Jean Carroll, whom juries found the president liable for sexually abusing and defaming.
“I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do,” Trump said in his post. “Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
Will ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ be back for good?
Not necessarily. Nexstar and Sinclair could continue to hurt his ratings by preempting the show with other coverage and Carr or President Donald Trump, who called for Kimmel to be fired months ago and publicly thanked ABC for suspending him, could still pressure the networks.
And while ABC has featured Kimmel’s late-night show since 2003, Kimmel’s contract is up in May 2026, according to The Associated Press and CNN.
Where can I watch ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’?
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs on ABC and some of its affiliates at 11:35 p.m. ET.
Where does ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ stream?
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” streams on Hulu.
Will ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ be preempted in Florida?
Sinclair has said it will preempt Kimmel’s show with local programming. The network owns, operates or provides services to several stations in Florida, but the only ABC affiliate is WEAR covering Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama.
Last week, Sinclair’s ABC stations said they would replace Kimmel’s slot with a special on Charlie Kirk, but backed off and ran “Celebrity Family Feud” instead.