Less than a week after Jimmy Kimmel was abruptly suspended from Jimmy Kimmel Live! for comments about Republican political activist, Charlie Kirk, ABC has announced his return to the network. Kimmel, who has been leading the late-night show since 2003, will be officially reinstated on Tuesday, September 23.
In a statement from an ABC spokesperson, the network reveals that they were in constant communication with the host: “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 [to] the show on Tuesday.”
What Caused Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension?
Kimmel was suspended following his comments on the death of Kirk, who was killed following a gunshot wound at the Utah Valley University campus on September 10. His death drew worldwide attention and sparked widespread condemnation of political violence from leaders at home and abroad. In the aftermath, Trump announced that Kirk would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
In his monologue the following Monday, September 15, Kimmel claimed the far-right movement was taking advantage of Kirk’s assassination for their own political gain. “We hit 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Following his comments, FCC chairman Brendan Carr threatened affiliate broadcast licenses if they did not “take action” against the talk show host. Soon after, Disney’s ABC caved and took Kimmel’s late-night show off the air. “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson told CNN at the time.
Several Celebrities Spoke Out Against Kimmel’s Suspension
Following the suspension, countless celebrities have spoken out against ABC’s decision, claiming that his suspension was a sign of censorship and goes against the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin released a statement not long after Kimmel’s suspension, saying that the guild “condemns” ABC’s decision to take Kimmel off the air. Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof followed suit, admitting that he will never do any more work for the studio until Kimmel is reinstated. Sex and the City alum Cynthia Nixon took to Instagram to share that she had canceled her Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions. “They asked me why, I hit ‘other’ and wrote: Because I believe in the First Amendment. Reinstate Jimmy Kimmel, now,” Nixon said.
In addition to the individual celebrities speaking out, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a letter on September 22 condemning Disney’s suspension, with over 400 celebrities behind it. “Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation,” the letter states. “This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation,” the letter concludes.
Some of the signatories include Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Olivia Rodrigo, Ben Stiller, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Diego Luna, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Natalie Portman, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and Kerry Washington.
Notably, it wasn’t just celebrities who were open about their thoughts on Kimmel’s suspension. In fact, countless users took to social media to call for a boycott on ABC, which included, much like Nixon, canceling their Disney and Hulu subscriptions. And while the data on those cancellations isn’t publicly available, Newsweek stated that the Walt Disney Company saw its stock fall 0.67% last week following Kimmel’s suspension.
All in all, celebrities and the public alike joined in the firestorm that followed Kimmel’s suspension from ABC. Now that Kimmel has been officially reinstated, and his return is officially set for tomorrow, the backlash is proving to have been worthwhile. But will the public or Kimmel himself forgive ABC for the decision? Will users be re-signing up for Disney and Hulu? Only time will tell.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returns to ABC on Tuesday, September 23.
