Jimmy Kimmel Tears Up in Return to Late Night

After a week’s suspension following controversial on air comments, Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to the air — although not in every area of the country, as the two local affiliate groups that threatened to preempt the show last week continued to do so even after Disney and ABC decided to bring Kimmel back on Tuesday September 23.

And on Tuesday’s show, Kimmel’s monologue did address the controversy that had swirled around the show for days. “You understand that it was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man,” Kimmel said at one point. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”

He added “Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions — it was a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but to some, that felt ill-timed or unclear or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I would have felt the same way. I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all. I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone, this was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn’t.”

Kimmel, who became teary-eyed during his monologue, did say that he disagreed with Disney’s decision to take him off the air; he also thanked him for putting them back on the air, despite the fact that doing so “puts them at risk.” Of President Trump’s celebratory reaction to Kimmel’s suspension last week, Kimmel added “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”

“A government threat to silence a comedian the government doesn’t like is anti-American,” Kimmel said.

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Kimmel also praised Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk for forgiving her late husband’s alleged shooter. (“She forgave him,” Kimmel said. “That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was.”)

Disney and ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air last Wednesday, over comments Kimmel made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the Tuesday September 16 edition of his show. After the episode aired, two owners of local television stations, Nexstar Media and Sinclair, said they would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! moving forward. Their announcements that they intended to take the show off their airwaves came after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr said on a podcast that network affiliates (like Nextstar and Sinclair) should “push back” against ABC and the show over Kimmel’s words.

In bringing Kimmel back to late night TV after a week’s suspension, Disney said in a statement “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.”

Nexstar and Sinclair did not air Kimmel’s return. In a statement, Nexstar said “we stand by that decision [removing the show] pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.” Sinclair said they will be replacing the show “with news programming” and that “discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”

You can watch Kimmel’s opening monologue below.