Fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers were among prominent names welcoming Jimmy Kimmel back after ABC lifted his suspension on Tuesday.
Colbert described Kimmel’s return as the end of the “long national late-nightmare”.
“Just a few hours before we taped this broadcast, we got word that our long national late-nightmare is over because Disney announced Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to air,” The Late Show host said.
“This is wonderful news for my dear friend Jimmy and his staff. I am so happy for them. Plus, now that Jimmy’s not being cancelled, I get to enjoy this again,” he added, holding up the Emmy that his show won for outstanding direction for a variety series.
Joking about CBS cancelling his own show earlier this year, Colbert said: “Once more, I am the only martyr in late-night. Wait, unless, CBS, you want to announce anything?”
Colbert’s show was cancelled in July, with CBS saying it was a financial decision and announcing that the final episode would be aired in May 2026.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was removed “indefinitely” from TV schedules last week by ABC over the host’s comments about the political response to the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the suspected gunman accused of shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
US president Donald Trump celebrated Kimmel’s axing, calling it “Great News for America”.
In a statement on Monday, ABC’s parent company Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be returning on Tuesday night.
“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 said.
Seth Meyers, host of Late Night on NBC, also talked about Kimmel’s impending return and the “massive national backlash to Trump’s crackdown on free speech, even among conservatives”.
“Minutes before we started taping, we got word that our friend Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air,” Meyers said to an audience that immediately broke out in cheers.
“Donald Trump is publicly calling on his attorney general to prosecute his political enemies and said TV networks that criticise him should lose their broadcast license. But that’s not us, right? We’re good? What, we’re on a network? But I don’t even wear a suit. This is a network? I thought we only aired on those gas station TVs.”
Noting that late-night talk show hosts had consistently talked and made jokes about former presidents, he said: “We make jokes about politicians and people in the news, including Joe Biden. It was just harder with Joe Biden, because he didn’t say much. You, on the other hand, talk all the time. You never stop talking. You didn’t stop talking when he was president. You’ve talked more than all the other Presidents combined ever.
“People say Johnny Carson did not make this many jokes about politics but he would have if every time he spoke, Ronald Reagan did 15 minutes on how toilets don’t flush well anymore.”
Ben Stiller, one of the first celebrities to respond to Kimmel’s cancellation last week, responded to the news of the show’s return with a clapping hands emoji on X.
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) September 22, 2025
Mark Hamill shared the news on BlueSky. “Meltdown on ‘Truth’ Social in 5... 4... 3... 2,” he said, referring to Trump’s social media app.
Pod Save America co-host Jon Favreau called out the US Federal Communications Commission chief who had threatened to discipline Kimmel if ABC did not act first. “Eat s*** Brendan Carr,” Favreau posted.
California governor Gavin Newsom felt similarly. “Thank you to everyone but Brendan Carr,” he posted. “This is a win for free speech everywhere.”
New York senator Chuck Schumer wrote: “This is big: Jimmy Kimmel is coming back! This is about fighting for free speech and against these abuses by Donald Trump and Brendan Carr.”
FCC Commissioner Anna M Gomez said she was “glad to see Disney find its courage in the face of clear government intimidation”.
I am glad to see Disney find its courage in the face of clear government intimidation.
— Anna M. Gomez (@AGomezFCC) September 22, 2025
More importantly, I want to thank those Americans from across the ideological spectrum who spoke loudly and courageously against this blatant attempt to silence free speech. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/7C4J7OPuTV
KIMMEL'S BACK!! pic.twitter.com/cqo5uohXqD
— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) September 22, 2025
Ironically this whole fiasco is gonna do wonders for Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings
— gianmarco (@GianmarcoSoresi) September 22, 2025
Not everyone was pleased by Kimmel’s impending return, however. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA organisation, claimed that “Disney and ABC caving” did not come as a surprise to him.
Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmell back on the air is not surprising, but it's their mistake to make.
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) September 22, 2025
Nextstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.
Must be nice to be a leftist. “Cancellation” lasts 5 nights and you’re right back under klieg lights.
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) September 22, 2025
On the right you’re underground.
So, Kimmel wasn’t cancelled by Trump or the FCC after all - but temporarily suspended by his employer because they thought what he said was ill-timed and insensitive. https://t.co/oWDrstgEFU
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 22, 2025
Kimmel was yet to address his suspension or the news of his return.
His comments during the 14 September episode – four days after Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking at a Turning Point USA event on the Utah Valley University campus – had landed him in hot water.
“We’d 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,” he said. Kimmel also used the subject to mock Trump, who then rejoiced at the news of his show getting pulled.
Kimmel’s suspension sparked a debate over free speech, with celebrities, politicians, and several current and former late-night talk show hosts voicing their outrage.
As the days passed with no resolution from ABC or Kimmel, the backlash against the network continued to grow. Protests erupted outside of Kimmel’s Hollywood studio and some Disney actors even urged followers on social media to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions and boycott the company entirely.
By Monday afternoon, hours before Kimmel’s return was announced, around 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.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is set to return Tuesday at 11.35pm ET on ABC.
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