Jimmy Kimmel is headed back to air.
Disney announced on Monday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to broadcast this Tuesday, after a brief but highly criticized suspension that sparked a national debate on free speech and the muzzling tactics of the Trump administration.
Disney indefinitely suspended Kimmel’s late-night talk show last Wednesday, under pressure from Donald Trump’s chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over comments Kimmel made about Maga and the killing of far-right 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 company, which owns the ABC television network, said on 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.”
The move comes after an extraordinary week that found late-night television in the political crosshairs. The tumult began last Monday, when Kimmel said during his monologue that “the Maga gang [is] 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 quote went viral – by Wednesday Brendan Carr, the FCC chair, threatened ABC’s affiliate licenses if Disney did not “take action” against the host. Disney suspended Kimmel indefinitely after the broadcast groups that own hundreds of affiliate stations, Nexstar – currently seeking merger approval from the FCC – and Sinclair, pre-empted the show. Sinclair, known to promote conservative talking points, also demanded that Kimmel donate to Kirk’s right-wing activist group Turning Point USA.
The suspension drew praise from Trump and Carr, who also threatened that he may be “looking into” The View, another ABC talk show critical of Trump. But it sparked condemnation from Hollywood talent, unions, media pundits, other talk show hosts and even Republican politicians like Ted Cruz, who likened Carr’s threats to that of a mob boss.
“The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people,” the Writers Guild of America wrote in a blistering statement. “It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice.
Earlier Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released an open letter condemning Disney’s decision signed by over 400 Hollywood stars including Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro.
Though production of Kimmel’s show will resume as usual Tuesday, it remains unclear how available the broadcast will be. Sinclair, which ran a Kirk tribute in place of Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, has stated that it will not allow Kimmel’s show back on its stations – including ABC in the Washington DC metro area – until he apologized to Kirk’s family, made a “meaningful personal donation” to them and met with Sinclair representatives. The show will, as ever, be available online after the ABC broadcast.
