ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials with the network said Tuesday.
"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 (local time),” said a statement from the network.
ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed on September 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them”.
Kimmel has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC since 2003 and has been a fixture in television and comedy for even longer. He is also well known as a presenter, having hosted the Academy Awards four times.
Backlash to Kimmel’s comments about Kirk was swift. Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners, said they would be pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their stations. Others, including several fellow comedians, came to his defence.
President Donald Trump, one of Kimmel’s frequent targets, posted on social media that Kimmel’s suspension was “great news for America”. He also called for other late-night hosts to be fired.
Kimmel was asked in an interview with Variety this past summer if he was worried that the administration would come after comedians. He expressed concern that a crackdown could be on the way.
“Well, you’d have to be naive not to worry a little bit,” he said. “But that can’t change what you’re doing.”
Kimmel’s suspension arrived at a time when Trump and his administration have pursued threats, lawsuits and federal government pressure to try to exert more control over the media industry. Trump has reached settlements with ABC and CBS over their coverage.
Trump has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Republicans in Congress stripped federal funding from NPR and PBS.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a new name for an Auckland transport hub, Jimmy Kimmel’s set to return, and a big boost for the All Blacks. (Source: Breakfast)
Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a warning prior to Kimmel’s suspension that criticised Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk assassination.
“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 also happened at a time when the late-night landscape is shifting. CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show over the summer
Kimmel’s contract with The Walt Disney Co-owned network had been set to expire in May 2026.
Word of the reinstatement came as hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars — including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep — urged Americans “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights” in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.
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 argues it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation”.
Also Tuesday, ABC's “The View” weighed in on the controversy after not raising it for two episodes after Kimmel was suspended. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg opened the show saying: “No one silences us” and she and her fellow hosts condemned Disney's decision.
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