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NEW YORK \u2014 ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s late night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a>, officials with the network said Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,\u201d said a statement from the network.<\/p>\n ABC suspended<\/a> Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said \u201cmany in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk\u201d and that \u201cthe MAGA gang\u201d was \u201cdesperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel has hosted \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d on ABC since 2003 and has been a fixture in television and comedy for even longer. He is also well known as a presenter, having hosted the Academy Awards four times.<\/p>\n Backlash to Kimmel\u2019s comments about Kirk was swift. Nexstar and Sinclair,<\/a> two of ABC\u2019s largest affiliate owners, said they would be pulling \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d from their stations. Others, including several fellow comedians<\/a>, came to his defense.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump, one of Kimmel\u2019s frequent targets, posted on social media that Kimmel\u2019s suspension was \u201cgreat news for America.\u201d He also called for other late night hosts to be fired.<\/p>\n Kimmel was asked in an interview with Variety this past summer if he was worried that the administration would come after comedians. He expressed concern that a crackdown could be on the way.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019d have to be naive not to worry a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that can\u2019t change what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s suspension arrived in a time when Trump and his administration have pursued threats, lawsuits and federal government pressure to try to exert more control over the media industry. Trump has reached settlements with ABC<\/a> and CBS<\/a> over their coverage.<\/p>\n Trump has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal<\/a> and The New York Times<\/a>. Republicans in Congress stripped federal funding from NPR and PBS<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brendan Carr<\/a>, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a warning prior to Kimmel\u2019s suspension that criticized Kimmel\u2019s remarks about the Kirk assassination.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way,\u201d Carr said. \u201cThese companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n The suspension also happened at a time when the late night landscape is shifting. CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert\u2019s show<\/a> over the summer<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s contract with The Walt Disney Co.-owned network had been set to expire in May 2026.<\/p>\n Word of the reinstatement came as hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars \u2014 including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep \u2014 urged Americans \u201cfight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights\u201d in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s suspension.<\/a><\/p>\n More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter<\/a> Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that argues it is \u201ca dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Also Monday, ABC\u2019s \u201cThe View\u201d weighed in on the controversy after not raising it for two episodes after Kimmel was suspended. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg opened the show saying: \u201cNo one silences us\u201d and she and her fellow hosts condemned Disney\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
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