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 killing of the conservative activist, 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 Monday 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 Federal Communications Commission 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.
Sinclair Broadcast Group and its partners also stopped airing Kimmel’s show in 30 markets last week, citing “problematic comments regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
Following Disney’s programming announcement Monday, Sinclair made clear it will continue not to air Kimmel’s show.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” Sinclair wrote on X (Twitter).
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.
Fellow comedian Seth Meyers called Kimmel’s anticipated return to late-night TV “great news” during the taping of his NBC show Monday.
Kimmel’s suspension has sparked a massive debate over free speech, with celebrities, politicians, and several current and former late-night talk show hosts voicing their outrage.
Among them was former President Barack Obama, who responded with a chilling warning.
“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like,” he wrote on X.
“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
Speaking at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York, former late-night host David Letterman said: “We see where this is all going, correct? It’s managed media. And it’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And 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. That’s just not how this works.
“The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show,” he added, noting that Kimmel’s removal “was predicted by our president right after Stephen Colbert got walked off, so you’re telling me this isn’t premeditated at some level?”
Wanda Sykes, who was scheduled to appear on Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! before the taping was suspended, shared a video on Instagram criticizing Trump.
“Let’s see. He didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week. But he did end freedom of speech within his first year. Hey, for those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper called the show’s suspension “the most direct infringement by the government on free speech that I’ve seen in my lifetime” in a Monday night interview with Meyers.
Comedian Jon Stewart congratulated those who pushed back against Disney for suspending Kimmel’s show, which included calls to boycott its various companies.
“That campaign that you all launched, pretending that you were gonna cancel Hulu while secretly racing through four seasons of Only Murders in the Building, that really worked,” Stewart told his audience on Monday night’s episode of The Daily Show.
As the days passed with no resolution from ABC or Kimmel, the backlash against the network continued to mount. Protests erupted outside of Kimmel’s Hollywood studio, with Disney actors turning to social media, urging followers to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions and boycott the company entirely.
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.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is set to return Tuesday at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.
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