Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show will return to ABC’s airwaves on Tuesday, nearly a week after it was suspended amid criticism of the host’s remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“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,” the Walt Disney Company said in a statement Monday. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
“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,” Disney added.
The network pulled the show Wednesday after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC affiliate licenses over Kimmel’s comments, which he described in a podcast interview as “the sickest conduct possible.”
Nexstar and Sinclair, two companies that own ABC affiliate stations across the United States, then announced they would pre-empt Kimmel’s show. ABC followed suit, saying it would pre-empt the show “indefinitely.”
In his monologue last Monday, Kimmel criticized what he called the “MAGA gang,” saying they’re “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.”
Authorities in Utah said Tuesday that the man accused of shooting Kirk had “started to lean more left” in recent months and targeted Kirk for his “political expression.”
Disney’s move plunged the company into a political firestorm at the intersection of debates over free speech and “cancel culture.”
The media giant was condemned by some unions, liberal lawmakers and prominent Hollywood figures, including former late-night host David Letterman, who said: “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian, criminal administration in the Oval Office.”
In an open letter released Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 400 celebrities wrote that Disney’s decision represents a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech,” the letter says. “Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”
The stars who signed the letter include Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington.
Yet some conservatives cheered ABC’s decision.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the host was fired because of “bad ratings” after he said a “horrible thing about a great gentleman named Charlie Kirk.” Vice President JD Vance jokingly described Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “the new host of ABC’s late-night show!”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
