Jimmy Kimmel returns to air after suspension: “It’s been overwhelming”
After a huge public outcry following the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Emmy-winning comedian made his TV return on Tuesday, September 23rd.
Cited as a sign of government censorship and a violation of the First Amendment by critics and audiences alike, Kimmel’s show was forced off the air and suspended “indefinitely” following a crackdown from the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Brendan Carr. The reasons cited were his allegedly insensitive comments after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Returning to air, Kimmel said in his monologue: “If you’re just joining us, we are preempting a regularly scheduled encore episode of ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ to bring you this special report… I’m not sure who ran the weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol. It’s been overwhelming.”
Adding, “I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people all over the world, over the last reached out ten or 11 times, weird characters from my past, or the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle, not airing tonight by the way.”
Over 70 ABC affiliate stations have refused to air Kimmel’s return to television, having been briefed by their parent companies, such as Sinclair or Nexstar. While the public reason stated for this is Kimmel’s comments about Kirk, the late-night show host confirmed in his monologue that he had privately reached out to Kirk’s family, expressed his condolences and explained his comments.
Donald Trump took to Truth Social to immediately attack Kimmel’s comeback: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!”
Promising that he was going to take further action, he concluded, “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me [$16million]. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
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