Millions watched as late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves on Tuesday.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” garnered 6.26 million viewers on Tuesday, Sept. 23, according to an ABC news release, despite the show not airing in in 23% of households after Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group said they would continue to preempt the show.
ABC also noted that the show earned a 0.87 rating among adults ages 18 to 49, which makes it the highest regularly scheduled episode in more than a decade — since March 12, 2015.
Kimmel walked out to a one-minute standing ovation on Tuesday night, with the audience cheering and clapping. The show was initially suspended by Disney on Sept. 17 over comments Kimmel made about conservative host and activist Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.
Kimmel’s monologue has also been viewed millions of times online — ABC said it’s garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social media platforms.
Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night monologue
Watch the full Jimmy Kimmel monologue from Tuesday’s show below:
What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?
In his show’s opening monologue on Sept. 15, Kimmel said supporters of President Donald Trump were “desperately trying to characterize” Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged in Kirk’s murder, as “anything other than one of them.” Last week, Kimmel also criticized Trump for saying Democrats were responsible for Kirk’s death at a Utah campus on Sept. 10.
“The MAGA crowd has been desperately trying to portray this guy who murdered Charlie Kirk as someone other than one of their own and doing everything they can to score political points with it,” Kimmel said.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at [email protected], @NatassiaPaloma on Twitter, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Jimmy Kimmel ratings soared during Tuesday’s show. How many watched
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