Jimmy Kimmel’s return from an ABC suspension did not dull his edge

In his first show back after the network took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air on Sept. 17 following remarks he made about the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Kimmel walked out to an ovation and chants of “Jimmy! Jimmy!” that lasted for a couple minutes. He then spent considerable time in his monologue thanking the people who supported him and excoriating those who called for his show to be canceled.

He also choked up a couple of times in addressing Kirk’s murder and showed contrition for how his remarks in the aftermath were taken.

“I’ve been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight. I don’t think it’s going to make much difference — you like me or you don’t. I’m not gonna change anyone’s mind,” Kimmel said. “But I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human that you understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. … Nor was my intent to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was tyring to make, but i understand that to some it felt ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset — if the situation was reversed, theres a good chance I’d feel the same way.”

Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! was available on ABC stations covering about 75 percent of the country. Two large station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, pre-empted the show on their more than 60 ABC affiliates that reach about a quarter of the nation’s TV homes, including the top 20 markets of Washington, D.C., and Seattle. Viewers in the affected markets will be able to see the show via Hulu and clips on YouTube on Wednesday.

Prior to ABC suspending the show, Nexstar and Sinclair said they would pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live! over the host’s Sept. 15 remarks, in which he said “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”

The station groups took action a few hours after Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr threatened to investigate and potentially revoke the licenses ABC affiliates if they continued to air Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Nexstar is hoping to merge with another station owner, Tegna, which will require FCC approval and a change to the commission’s cap on station ownership. Sinclair has also signaled it’s interested in M&A activity.

Kimmel’s suspension and the FCC threats drew ire from the creative community, with some 400 actors, filmmakers, writers and musicians signing an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union condemning the moves as anti-free speech. Kimmel’s fellow late night hosts, a number of industry unions and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner also took up the cause, and social media lit up with users saying they were canceling subscriptions to Disney’s streaming properties. Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz — whom Kimmel name-checked and thanked Tuesday — also said the FCC shouldn’t meddle with policing political speech.

Kimmel also had plenty to say about Carr and President Donald Trump in his monologue. He said his right to free speech was “something I took for granted till they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities you live in to take my show off the air. That’s not legal, That’s not American. That is un-American.”

Kimmel also excoriated Trump for the administration’s threats against the show, potentially costing the 200 or so people who work on Jimmy Kimmel Live! their jobs.

“The president made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here get fired. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,” Kimmel said. “He was somehow able to squeeze Colbert out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me, and now he’s openly rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don’t make millions of dollars. I hope that if that happens, or if there’s even a hint of it happening, you’ll be 10 times as loud as you were this week. We have to speak out.”

He continued, “I never imagined I’d be in situation like this, but one thing I learned form Lenny Bruce and George Carlin and Howard Stern is that a government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American. I’m so glad we have some solidarity on that on the right and left and those in the middle like Joe Rogan. Maybe the sliver lining is we found one thing we can agree on, and maybe we’ll find another one.”

After the show’s first break, Kimmel did a sketch with Robert De Niro playing the new head of the FCC, who made several mobster-like threats and said the commission was now “charging by the word” unless it was complimentary of Trump.

Glen Powell and Sarah MacLachlan were the guests on Tuesday’s show. At a premiere for an ABC News-produced documentary about Lilith Fair Sunday, MacLachlan announced that scheduled musical performances by her and other artists had been canceled “in support of free speech.”

One person who didn’t appreciate Kimmel’s return: Trump, who on his Truth Social account ranted that “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was canceled! … 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.”

ABC News doesn’t produce Jimmy Kimmel Live!; the show is part of the network’s entertainment division. The $16 million Trump refers to in his post is the amount Disney paid to settle a defamation lawsuit Trump brought against ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos over the latter’s incorrect statement in March 2024 that Trump had been found “liable for rape by a jury.” In writer E. Jean Carroll’s civil suit against Trump, the jury found him liable for sexual abusing and defaming Carroll.

Trump’s Truth Social post came well after Kimmel taped his show Tuesday. Kimmel noted that as of the taping, Trump hadn’t said anything: “Maybe he’s saving it for his late night toilet time?”

ABC also posted the first segments of Tuesday’s show to YouTube soon after they aired, allowing viewers in the Nexstar and Sinclair markets to see the first half of the show. Watch it below.