Jimmy Kimmel is heading back on screens after a whirlwind week of controversy. Disney confirmed on Monday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! is set to return to ABC on Tuesday night, barely a week after the show was suspended in the wake of comments Kimmel made about the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk and the reactions from supporters of Donald Trump’s administration.
The drama kicked off last Monday during Kimmel’s monologue, where he remarked, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise 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 comment quickly lit up social media and landed him in hot water with Brendan Carr, the FCC Chair appointed by Trump, who openly threatened ABC’s affiliate licences if Disney didn’t “take action” against Kimmel. The show was pulled, leading to heated debate about free speech, government pressure, and media independence.
“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 today.
“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 backlash wasn’t limited to viewers. Hollywood heavyweights, late-night hosts, unions and even some politicians rushed to defend Kimmel and denounce the apparent corporate and governmental strong-arming.
US Senator Ted Cruz weighed in with, “That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it… Going down this road, there will come a time when a Democrat wins again – wins the White House… they will silence us. They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly. And that is dangerous”.
In another stinging rebuke, the Writers Guild of America issued a statement: “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. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice”. Over 400 celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Meryl Streep, and Robert De Niro, signed an open letter from the ACLU calling on Disney to reconsider the suspension, arguing for free speech in the entertainment sector.
Despite Disney’s decision to bring the show back, not all stations are on board. Sinclair, which had replaced Kimmel’s slot with a tribute to Kirk, declared it wouldn’t run Jimmy Kimmel Live! until Kimmel apologised directly to Kirk’s family and made a “meaningful personal donation”. The show will still air online and on ABC, though Sinclair’s block includes key American markets.
The whole saga has left a mark on Kimmel and the late-night landscape, with industry insiders tipping record ratings for his first episode back.
Howard Stern, a close mate of Kimmel, slammed Disney’s handling of the situation, telling audiences, “You can’t support this kind of a move. I don’t care whether you like Jimmy or not. It’s about freedom of speech… We can’t have that, not if we’re going to have a democracy”.
Many fans of Kimmel boycotted Disney with the brand reportedly losing USD 3.87 billion (around AUD 5.87 billion) since the news of Kimmel’s suspension was announced. Disney’s shares also dropped by 0.67 per cent following the announcement, however there may be other factors that contributed to this.
Kimmel himself has stayed silent since the suspension, with fans and critics alike waiting to see how he’ll address it on his return.
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