By News18,Vani Mehrotra

Copyright news18

Jimmy Kimmel, who returned to late-night television on Tuesday after a nearly weeklong suspension, nearly broke down in tears, saying he wasn’t trying to joke about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I don’t think what I have to say is gonna make much of a difference, if you like me, you like me… If you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said, his voice breaking.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he added.

“I posted a message on Instagram, sending love to his family and asking for compassion, and I meant it, I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what, it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual, that was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both,” Kimmel said.
“For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. I’d have felt the same way,” he said.
“I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all. I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn’t,” Jimmy Kimmel said.

In another video, Kimmel criticised the ABC affiliates who took his show off the air.
“That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s un-American,” he said.
He thanked the people who supported him, and even people who don’t like him, who stood up for his right to speak, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
“It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration. They did, and they deserve credit for it,” Kimmel said.

ABC, which suspended Kimmel’s show last Wednesday following criticism of his comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, announced Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return after the network had “thoughtful conversations” with the host.
Kimmel faced backlash after comments he made in a monologue last week.
The host, who has been a relentless Trump critic in his comedy, suggested that many Trump supporters were trying to capitalise on Kirk’s death and were “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
US President Donald Trump celebrated ABC’s move on the social media site Truth Social, writing, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
He also targeted two other late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and said they should be cancelled too, calling them “two total losers.”
In July, after CBS cancelled ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’, Trump wrote on his social media platform, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!”
Like Colbert, Kimmel has consistently been critical of Trump and many of his policies.
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