Jimmy Kimmel made his return to late-night on Tuesday, a week after Disney and ABC made the call to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live from the air, citing the host’s comments about the right-wing response to Charlie Kirk’s death. Media companies Sinclair and Nexstar are continuing to preempt the series. Still, while it didn’t air on their ABC affiliate channels last night, Kimmel’s 30-minute monologue has racked up nearly 12 million views in the past 12 hours.
The views are continuing to climb, setting the video on track to be the most-viewed upload from Jimmy Kimmel Live since the host sat down with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and 50 Cent last year. That clip sits at 16 million views.
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“Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” Kimmel said in his emotional monologue. “People I never would have imagined, like Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul. Even my old pal Ted Cruz … Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects — some of the things they say even make me want to throw up — it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did, and they deserve credit for it.”
This throws a wrench into the Trump administration’s plans. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr claimed that Kimmel attempted to push the narrative that Kirk’s shooter “was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person,” again calling it “sick,” in an effort to have the show pulled.
Donald Trump himself threw something of a fit about Kimmel’s return. In a rant on Truth Social, he declaring that he intends to sue ABC for bringing the show back. “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.”
He added: “He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
Trump is referencing the settlement in which Paramount agreed to pay $16 million in donations to the future Trump Library after he filed a lawsuit against 60 Minutes, objecting to an interview with Kamala Harris that was not edited to his liking. Around the same time, Paramount was vying for federal approval of an $8 billion merger with Skydance, which had been in limbo for some time.
When Stephen Colbert referred to the deal as a “big fat bribe,” Paramount suddenly announced it was ending The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, despite the show’s top-ranking ratings. Maybe Trump assumed the same would happen to Kimmel. However, if more than 11 million people are willing to tune in online as well, his fight can’t be with the networks. Is he going to sue YouTube next? That would make for a great Jimmy Kimmel Live segment.
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