Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show will return on Tuesday after being suspended by ABC last week following pressure from a top federal regulator.
Kimmel was taken off the airwaves for comments he made following the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed on Sept 10.
His removal prompted concerns over free speech and censorship, as it came soon after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr suggested he would take action against ABC.
ABC’s parent company, Disney, said that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return on Tuesday.
"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” Disney said in a statement Monday.
“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. 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," it added.
The comments that prompted the suspension came in the opening monologue of Kimmel’s show on Sept. 15.
“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,” the host said, before playing footage of President Donald Trump responding to a question about Kirk’s death and poking fun at the reaction.
Carr, a Trump appointee, said Kimmel was "appearing to directly mislead the American public" with the comments, which a number of conservative commentators said mischaracterized the politics of the suspect in Kirk’s killing, Tyler Robinson.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Trump celebrated Kimmel's suspension.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” the President posted on Truth Social. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”
The move drew widespread backlash, including from a small but vocal group of Republicans that have since challenged what they see at Trump’s pressuring of media companies and threat to free speech.
Experts have warned of a larger Trump Administration silencing campaign against critics, following CBS’s cancellation of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert earlier this year in a move that was seen by many as politically motivated.
The entertainment industry responded to Kimmel’s indefinite suspension in numbers, with more than 400 Hollywood celebrities signing an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemning the decision to take the host off the air and several Hollywood unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers publicly condemning the move.
Other late-night hosts have made a show of their support for Kimmel and skewered ABC and the Administration. On ABC’s own air, hosts of “The View” addressed Kimmel’s suspension on Monday.
“No one silences us,” said co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who has been on the show since 2007. “The government cannot, cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has positioned himself as a leading opponent of the Trump Administration and whose state is home to the capital of the entertainment world, celebrated the news of Kimmel going back on air in a post on X in which he called out the FCC chairman: “Thank you to everyone but @BrendanCarrFCC. This is a win for free speech everywhere.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the conservative youth activist group Kirk founded in 2012, pushed back on the decision to reinstate Kimmel’s show.
“Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmell back on the air is not surprising, but it's their mistake to make,” said Andrew Kolvet on his X account.
“Nextstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice,” he added, referring to two major television operators that own a number ABC affiliates. Both said following the comments that they would refrain from airing Kimmel’s show indefinitely, with Sinclair specifying that regardless of what ABC did it would not return the show to its air “until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken.” Neither has stated since Disney announced the decision to lift the suspension whether they will also resume airing future episodes of Kimmel’s show.
Post a Comment