Jimmy Kimmel Live is alive. The late-night talk show, which was pulled by ABC last week after host Jimmy Kimmel‘s controversial jokes about the politicization of right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk‘s murder, will return tomorrow night. The reversal comes in the wake of a massive outcry about government censorship; just this morning, a massive list of notable Hollywood talents protesting ABC corporate parent Disney’s handling of the matter hit the media.
In a statement, the Disney corporation stated, “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.” Disney has been hit hard over the decision, which was prompted by comments from Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr and major ABC affiliate owners Sinclair and Nexstar. Just this morning, over 400 Hollywood notables, including several Star Wars and Marvel stars, put their names on a list condemning Disney’s actions.
What Is Behind the Kimmel Controversy?
On September 10, right-wing commentator Kirk was assassinated in Utah; the motivations and political affiliations of his alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, are currently unclear. However, the government has accused left-wing groups of celebrating Kirk’s demise, and took particular aim at Kimmel, a frequent critic of the right wing and President Donald Trump. On Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel made the following comment in his opening monologue: “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.” The comment ignited a firestorm on the right, attracting veiled threats from the Trump-appointed Carr; this prompted Sinclair and Nexstar, two companies that own a number of local ABC affiliates that are seeking federal approval for an impending merger, to pull the show from their schedule. Disney followed suit shortly afterward. Disney’s actions attracted criticism from both the left and the right; the company’s stock price has gone down amid reports of mass cancellations of Disney+ and Hulu, its streaming services.
Kimmel’s suspension comes in the wake of the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; Colbert, another fierce Trump critic, had his show canceled as the government approved the merger of Paramount, which owns Late Show broadcaster CBS, with Skydance. The company insists, however, that the motive behind that cancellation was purely financial.
Jimmy Kimmel Live will return to ABC on Tuesday. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
