<\/p>\n
Jimmy Kimmel figured his ABC late night show was toast during last month\u2019s firestorm over his comments following conservative activist Charlie Kirk\u2019s murder. <\/p>\n
\u201cI said to my wife: \u2018That\u2019s it. It\u2019s over\u2019,\u201d Kimmel recalled Wednesday night at the Bloomberg Screentime media conference in Hollywood in a lengthy sit-down interview three weeks after the controversy.<\/p>\n
The 57-year-old comedian has long felt his statements about the Kirk shooting were misconstrued. But he recognized his show was in deep trouble on Sept. 17 when his bosses benched him and two ABC affiliate station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, initially refused to air the program.<\/p>\n
Kimmel provided fresh details about his dealings with Walt Disney Co. brass, his emotional hiatus and the late night television business in the wake of rival CBS announcing it was canceling \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert,<\/a>\u201d next spring. <\/p>\n Kimmel declined to say whether he would extend his long ABC run when his contract is up in May, but he acknowledged an interest in producing other projects. <\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s future was in doubt last month after his comments and the political backlash spawned boisterous protests that shined a light on 1st Amendment freedoms, the role of the Federal Communications Commission and the challenges facing Disney as it looks for a new leader to replace Chief Executive Bob Iger<\/a> next year.<\/p>\n The controversy began with his Sept. 15 monologue when Kimmel said Trump supporters \u201care 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.\u201d Right-wing influencers howled; FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel\u2019s actions \u201cthe sickest conduct possible.\u201d<\/p>\n The sentiment he was trying to convey \u201cwas intentionally, and I think maliciously, mischaracterized,\u201d Kimmel said.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t sense the initial fallout was \u201ca big problem,\u201d rather a \u201cdistortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Kimmel had planned to clarify his remarks Sept. 17, but Disney executives feared the comedian was dug in and would only inflame the tense situation. That night, about an hour before showtime, Disney hit pause and released a statement saying the show had been pre-empted \u201cindefinitely.\u201d <\/p>\n He was off the air for four days. <\/p>\n \u201cI can sometimes be aggressive. I can sometimes be unpleasant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A protester calls for the return of \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d after Walt Disney Co. yanked the ABC comedian in September over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. <\/p>\n (Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n He recognized the show\u2019s precarious position when Sinclair and Nexstar bailed. He recalled an episode from early in his career when he made a joke about boisterous Detroit basketball fans, saying \u201cthey\u2019re gonna burn the city of Detroit down<\/a> if the Pistons win,\u201d so he hoped the Lakers would prevail. <\/p>\n The comment riled up the Motor City, prompting the local ABC affiliate to briefly shelve Kimmel\u2019s show.<\/p>\n An ABC executive at the time told Kimmel the loss of the Detroit market could be catastrophic. That pales in comparison to the threatened loss of Nexstar and Sinclair, which own dozens of stations, including in such large markets as Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n \u201cThe idea that I would not have …. 40 affiliates [stations] … I was like, \u2018Well that\u2019s it\u2019,\u201d Kimmel said.<\/p>\n But he said he \u201cwas not going to go along\u201d with demands made by station broadcasters.<\/p>\n Sinclair, a right-leaning broadcaster, said in a statement it would not air Kimmel until he issued \u201ca direct apology to the Kirk family\u201d and \u201cmake a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,\u201d the right-wing group Kirk founded. <\/p>\n Both Sinclair and Nexstar resumed airing the show Sept. 26. ABC offered no concessions. <\/p>\n Kimmel complimented Disney\u2019s Co-Chairman of Entertainment Dana Walden\u2019s handling of the crisis, saying she was instrumental in helping him sort through his emotions. <\/p>\n \u201cI ruined Dana\u2019s weekend. It was just non stop phone calls all weekend,\u201d Kimmel said, saying he doubted the situation would have turned out so well<\/a> \u201cif I hadn\u2019t talked to Dana as much as I did, because it helped me think everything through, and it helped me just kind of understand where everyone was coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked who might become the next CEO of Disney, Kimmel said it would be \u201cfoolish\u201d to answer that question.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I happen to love Dana Walden very much, and I think she\u2019s done a great job,\u201d Kimmel said. <\/p>\n Throughout the controversy, Walden and Iger were skewered by critics who asserted the company was caving to President Trump, who has made it clear that he\u2019s no Kimmel fan. The Disney leaders were accused of \u201ccorporate capitulation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat has happened over the last three weeks … was very unfair to my bosses at Disney,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cIt [was] insane, and I hope that we drew a really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel returned Sept. 23 with an emotional monologue that championed the 1st Amendment. <\/p>\n Ratings soared.<\/p>\n