<\/p>\n
Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> returned to late-night TV with tears, laughs and plenty of clear words about President Donald Trump<\/a> and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kimmel, who was suspended \u201cindefinitely\u201d by ABC last week, was back on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a>\u201d Tuesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cHe did his best to cancel me<\/a>,\u201d Kimmel said of Trump. \u201cInstead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his recent suspension, Kimmel did not go soft on Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can\u2019t take a joke,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was somehow able to squeeze (Stephen) Colbert<\/a> out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me, and now he\u2019s openly rooting for NBC to fire<\/a> Jimmy Fallon<\/a> and Seth Meyers<\/a> and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don\u2019t make millions of dollars. And I hope that if that happens, or if there\u2019s even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>Comedians, writers and celebrities react to Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s suspension at ABC. \u2018What is happening to our country?\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Kimmel talked about threats not just to late-night TV hosts but also to journalists<\/a>, including those covering the Pentagon<\/a>, who have recently faced more threats through a policy requiring that media not publish information not approved for release by the government.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to pick and choose what the news is,\u201d Kimmel said of the government (see clip below). \u201cI know that\u2019s not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it\u2019s so important to have a free press and it is nuts that we aren\u2019t paying more attention to it.\u201d<\/p>\n The late-night host was visibly emotional as he returned to a roar of applause and standing ovation and chants of \u201cJimmy! Jimmy!\u201d from the audience.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted …\u201d Kimmel began. \u201cIf you\u2019re just joining us, we are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of \u2018Celebrity Family Feud\u2019 to bring you this special report.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours,\u201d he said. \u201cMe or the CEO of Tylenol.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel said the time between his suspension and return has been \u201coverwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n He started by thanking all the people who reached out and supported him.<\/p>\n They included many current and former late-night hosts \u2014 Stephen Colber<\/a>t, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Arsenio Hall, Conan O\u2019Brien, Jon Stewart<\/a>, John Oliver, Chelsea Handler<\/a> and Jay Leno \u2014 along with comedians like Wanda Sykes<\/a> and Kathy Griffin<\/a> and even the person who fired him from his first radio job.<\/p>\n He was also grateful for support from his \u201cboyhood idols\u201d David Letterman and Howard Stern.<\/p>\n Kimmel, who has hosted his ABC show since 2003, said he even received a job offer from a German late-night host.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>Jon Stewart\u2019s gold-encrusted, Trump-praising take on Jimmy Kimmel: \u2018Free speech means speech that supports the president\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis country has become so authoritarian, the Germans are like \u2018come here,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kimmel turned to the audience and thanked them, too, for making their voices heard so his could be heard, too, he said. Many viewers canceled their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions after Kimmel was suspended.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don\u2019t support my show or what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,\u201d Kimmel said, listing the names of right-wing commentators and politicians, including Sen. Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n Cruz had said he was \u201cthrilled\u201d that Kimmel was fired, but opposed the muzzling of a comedian because of what it means for free speech at large.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cI mean, think about it, if Ted Cruz can\u2019t speak freely, then he can\u2019t cast spells on the Smurfs.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel acknowledged the weight of his Tuesday monologue and the many expectations placed on what he would say.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, I don\u2019t think what I have to say is gonna make much of a difference,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you like me, you like me. If you don\u2019t, you don\u2019t. Look, I have no illusions about changing anyone\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s suspension at ABC and parent company Disney was preceded by attacks and criticism from Trump and Carr along with Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, the owners of ABC affiliates across the country who have removed the late-night show from their programming.<\/p>\n The criticism was in response to comments Kimmel made on his Sept. 15 show about Republican reaction to the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing anything they can to score political points from it,\u201d Kimmel had said on the show.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Kimmel\u2019s voice cracked as he talked about the response from those critics and others to what he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI do wanna make something clear because it\u2019s important to me as a human,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel noted that he had posted an Instagram message the day Kirk was killed in which he sent love to his family and asked for compassion.<\/p>\n \u201cI meant it,\u201d he said. \u201cI still do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cThat was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some, that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the monologue, Kimmel pointed to Kirk\u2019s wife, Erika Kirk, forgiving her husband\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is an example we should follow,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That\u2019s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel said that he receives many \u201cugly and scary\u201d threats against his life because of what he says on the show.<\/p>\n They include threats against his family and coo-workers.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to make this about me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis show is not important,\u201d Kimmel continued. \u201cWhat is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Disney moved to suspend Kimmel after Nexstar said it would be dropping \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d in response to his comments in the wake of Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Nexstar, which owns 32 ABC stations, wants to acquire Tegna<\/a>, another owner of TV stations, for $6.2 billion<\/a>. In order to do so, Nexstar would FCC approval.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>N.J.\u2019s Chelsea Handler: Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s suspension harks back to McCarthyism. \u2018Speak up before it\u2019s too late.\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Just before Kimmel was suspended Sept. 17, Carr, the chairman of the FCC, directly criticized ABC and Kimmel in comments on a podcast<\/a> with Benny Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way<\/a>,\u201d Carr said, channeling any number of Mafia characters. \u201cThese companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there\u2019s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in Kimmel\u2019s first episode back, he did a segment with Robert De Niro, who played a mysterious thuggish figure working as the new FCC boss.<\/p>\n Carr\u2019s comments arrived after Trump had called for Kimmel to be fired, just as he had called for Stephen Colbert<\/a> to be fired<\/a> at \u201cThe Late Show<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In July, CBS and Colbert announced that his late-night show would be ending next year<\/a>.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>\u2018The Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u2019 is ending. In shock move, so is the late-night franchise.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n That decision was made while CBS<\/a> parent company Paramount<\/a> was in the middle of a since-completed merger with the company Skydance<\/a>, which also required FCC approval<\/a>. A decision was announced to end Colbert\u2019s show after the late-night host criticized CBS\u2019 $16 million settlement<\/a> with Trump over his claims about how a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was edited (Montclair resident Colbert called the settlement a \u201cbig fat bribe<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n In his Tuesday monologue, Kimmel went on to say that he took for granted the right to speak freely as an American talk show host until Colbert\u2019s show fell victim to a dimming of free speech. (CBS maintained the decision was \u201cpurely\u201d financial in nature.)<\/p>\n Kimmel said government interference resulted in ABC affiliates being coerced to cut \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not legal,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not American. That is un-American.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel said that \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d remains off the air in 20% of the country.<\/p>\n He gave another example of such interference: if the government wanted to decide which podcasts were suitable for consumption, so they screened and regulated them to determine if they \u201cserved the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel also pulled up Carr\u2019s comments from 2022 about free speech.<\/p>\n \u201cPolitical satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech,\u201d the FCC chairman, then FCC commissioner, had said at the time.<\/p>\n He paired them with Trump\u2019s own 2022 comments: \u201cIf we don\u2019t have free speech, then we just don\u2019t have a free country. It\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n Cue a clip of Trump saying Kimmel was cut at ABC because has \u201cno talent\u201d and \u201cno ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I do tonight,\u201d Kimmel said with a smile.<\/p>\n Read the original article on NJ.com<\/a>. Add NJ.com<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night TV with tears, laughs and plenty of clear words about President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Kimmel, who was suspended \u201cindefinitely\u201d by ABC last week, was back on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d Tuesday night. \u201cHe did his best to cancel me,\u201d Kimmel said of Trump. \u201cInstead, he forced millions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2045702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[374318,373185,22389,23571,23060,371187],"class_list":["post-2045701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-brendan-carr","tag-colbert","tag-donald-trump","tag-jimmy-fallon","tag-jimmy-kimmel","tag-ted-cruz"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Trump-cant-take-a-joke-tries-to-get-everyone-fired.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2045701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2045702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2045701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2045701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2045701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A job offer and praise for Ted Cruz<\/b><\/h2>\n
A tearful moment<\/b><\/h2>\n
About those \u2018ratings\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n