‘We have to speak out:’ Jimmy Kimmel’s return scores historic ratings

The return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to ABC on Tuesday night nearly quadrupled the show’s usual ratings, according to multiple media reports, despite airing in only about 80% of its regular programming markets.

Preliminary Nielsen figures show the episode averaged 6.26 million viewers, The Hollywood Reporter said. That’s the largest tune-in for a regular episode in the show’s 22-year history — aside from a couple of specials.

That total is also nearly four times Kimmel’s usual audience, The New York Times noted, even as about 66 ABC affiliates owned by Nexstar and Sinclair blacked out the show, representing more than 20% of U.S. TV homes.

The broadcast also drew a 0.87 rating among adults 18–49, or about 1.18 million viewers in that demographic, according to THR. It was the best performance for a regularly scheduled episode in more than a decade.

Online, Kimmel’s return reached even further. ABC uploaded the first 28 minutes of Tuesday’s show — which included his monologue — to YouTube, where it quickly surpassed 15 million views; across all platforms, the clip has already topped 26 million views, setting a new record for the late-night host, the outlet reported.

Tuesday’s broadcast was Kimmel’s first since ABC and Disney suspended the program Sept. 17 following criticism over his remarks about the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The move came amid growing backlash, including from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, and set off a national debate over free speech.

In his 18-minute opening monologue, Kimmel addressed the remarks that led to his suspension.

“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he said.

At the same time, he insisted that remaining silent was not an option: “The easy thing to do would be to shut up. But the easy thing isn’t always the right thing. We have to speak out. We have to support each other, and we have to vote for leaders who believe in freedom of speech.”

He also referenced FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who had threatened to investigate stations airing his show. Kimmel called it “un-American,” and pushed back against what he described as political intimidation:

“A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American. This show is not important. What’s important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”

Kimmel also turned his attention to President Donald Trump, saying, “The president made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here get fired. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”

What did Jimmy Kimmel say in his monologues about Charlie Kirk?

Kimmel added that Trump had targeted other late-night hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. “I hope that if that happens, or if there’s even a hint of it happening, you’ll be 10 times as loud as you were this week,” he told the audience.

Hours before the broadcast, Trump posted on social media: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings,” according to The New York Times.

During the show, Kimmel played a clip of Trump aboard Air Force One in which the president said, “He had no ratings.” Kimmel responded:

“Well, I do tonight.”

He closed his remarks with a call for solidarity: “We have to speak out, we have to support each other, and we have to vote for leaders who believe in freedom of speech.”

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