Jon Stewart reacts to Jimmy Kimmel’s return on ‘The Daily Show’
During his weekly episode on The Daily Show on September 22nd, Jon Stewart addressed the impending return of Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
On September 17th, following pressure from the FCC, the Sinclair Group and Nexstar Media, Kimmel was suspended indefinitely by ABC. This decision prompted a huge backlash with 400 Hollywood names, including Jennifer Aniston and Robert De Niro, signing an open letter in support of Kimmel.
Then, on September 22nd, the Walt Disney Company, which is the parent company of ABC, walked back their decision and confirmed Jimmy Kimmel Live would be returning to air on September 23rd.
They shared, “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 continued, “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.”
Taking to the air hours after Kimmel’s return was announced, Stewart said of his late-night rival on The Daily Show, “I’ll tell you, Jimmy Kimmel’s flying high like Advil today.”
He then joked of figures such as Howard Stern cancelling their subscriptions to ABC-affiliated companies, saying, “I want to say this seriously, that campaign that you all launched, pretending that you were going to cancel Hulu while secretly racing through four seasons of Only Murders in the Building, that really worked. Congratulations.”
Stewart added, “Wasn’t it interesting to try and figure out all the tentacles Disney has in your daily life? It’s one thing to swear off cruises, but The Avengers? Nah.”
Similarly, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host remarked of Kimmel’s pending return, “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,” holding up his award that his show recently won at the Emmys.
Colbert then joked: “Once more, I am the only martyr in late-night. Wait, unless, CBS, you want to announce anything?,” referencing the fact that his own show, The Late Show, is set to be cancelled in May next year.
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