Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show will return to ABC Tuesday evening following a nearly week-long suspension over the host’s comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel made controversial implications about the identity of Tyler Robinson, the suspected gunman behind the conservative activist’s killing, during the September 14 episode, resulting in ABC suspending his show “indefinitely.”
Disney, the parent company of ABC, acknowledged the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a statement, saying: “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. 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.”
It’s not yet clear if Nexstar Media Group, the largest owner of television stations across the country, will air Kimmel’s show upon its return.
The company put out a statement after Kimmel’s comments, which, along with pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr, prompted ABC to pull the late-night show entirely. “Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” the statement said.
Kimmel has not yet addressed his suspension or subsequent return to airwaves.
His comments from the September 14 episode — four days after Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking at a Turning Point USA event on the Utah Valley University campus — landed him in hot water.
“We had 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 with everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. He also used the subject to mock Donald Trump, who rejoiced at the news of Kimmel’s show getting pulled.
The host was set to address his comments during Wednesday’s episode, which was pulled by ABC just hours before showtime.
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Kimmel’s suspension has sparked a massive debate over free speech, with celebrities, former presidents, and several current and former late-night talk show hosts voicing their outrage.
By Monday afternoon — hours before Kimmel’s return to air was announced — over 400 celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston and Meryl Streep — had signed an open letter denouncing ABC’s decision to take the late-night host off the air.
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. 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 letter began, per the ACLU website.