Jimmy Kimmel to return after controversial axing

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to the air tonight, following its controversial suspension due to comments relating to the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Last week, it was announced that Jimmy Kimmel’s show had been pulled “indefinitely” from ABC, which is owned by Disney.

During his show, Kimmel criticized what he called the “MAGA gang” for “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 move sparked a strong response from both sides of the political spectrum, with Donald Trump celebrating the decision and calling for more late-night hosts to be taken off air.

As if to prove Kimmel right, Trump even worked the issue in his speech at Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday. He took aim at his political opponents on the “radical left” and addressed the backlash about Kimmel’s show being axed.

“The same commentators who this week are screaming fascism over a cancelled late-night TV show, where the anchor had no talent and no ratings, last week were implying that Charlie Kirk deserved what happened to him,” he said.

Trump has faced some backlash for his speech. One user commented: “This is what trump talks about at the funeral of his friend? Kimmel was accurate.” Another wrote: “I thought this was a memorial service? Silly me, total political rally & propaganda spew.”

Meanwhile, celebrities and opposing political voices reacted to the decision with anger.

A huge number of prominent creative voices condemned the decision, with many expressing concern over the endangerment of free speech and the proliferation of government censorship in Trump’s America. Celebrities – including those associated with Disney IPs like Marvel – and fellow talk show hosts took a stand, denouncing the suspension as an attack on First Amendment Rights.

Part of the outcry led many to boycott Disney, who acquired ABC in 1996 – and also owns Fox Entertainment, ESPN, National Geographic, FX and Hulu.

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Now, in a fresh twist to this controversial saga, the Walt Disney Company released a statement yesterday which read: “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. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”

The statement added: “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.”

Fellow comedian and late-night host Seth Meyers called Kimmel’s return “great news” during the taping of his NBC show yesterday, and Stephen Colbert, whose own show is being cancelled by CBS, also reacted to the news during the opening of his show. He told his audience that “our long national, late nightmare is over” and joked: “Once more, I am the only martyr on late night!”

Referring to the calls for boycotting Disney, Jon Stewart congratulated Kimmel’s supporters on last night’s episode of The Daily Show, joking: “That campaign that you all launched, pretending that you were gonna cancel Hulu while secretly racing through four seasons of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ that really worked.”

Elsewhere, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted online that this return was “about fighting for free speech and against these abuses by Donald Trump and Brendan Carr”, while ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said ABC “made the right call” in returning Kimmel to air.

“It should never have suspended him to begin with and resisted the government’s desire to control what people say,” Romero said in a statement. “Hopefully, other media outlets will also find their spines and resist the Trump administration’s efforts to cudgel them into obeisance,” he added.

Earlier, the ACLU released an open letter condemning Disney’s decision. The letter was signed by more than 400 Hollywood stars including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Jennifer Aniston.

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As much of a win as this is for Kimmel and free speech in the US, Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners who previously said they would be pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their stations, may not air the show once it comes back tonight.

Sinclair was categoric on the matter, saying that it would not air Kimmel’s show and would broadcast news programming instead.

There was no immediate comment from Nexstar on its plans for Kimmel’s return.

Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk and now headed by his widow, posted on X about Kimmel’s reinstatement: “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make. Nexstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.”

As of writing, Trump has yet to post a statement regarding Kimmel’s reinstatement. We can’t imagine that he is best pleased, considering his previous gloating on the matter.

Kimmel has not yet addressed his suspension or his subsequent return to airwaves. However, he is expected to do so during tonight’s show, which will doubtlessly see record viewership numbers to welcome him back.