“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” aired for the first time Tuesday since Disney suspended its host last week.
Jimmy Kimmel walked out on stage to rousing applause — with audience members chanting, “Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy!” — and delivered an 18-minute monologue.
Here are some of the highlights:
Jimmy Kimmel thanks supporters — and nonsupporters
- He started off by thanking fellow late-night talk show hosts.
- Kimmel thanked the audience in attendance: “You supported our show, cared enough to do something about it to make your voices heard so that mine can be heard,” he said. “I will never forget it.”
- He also thanked people who disagree with him: “And maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” Kimmel said, listing off names like Ben Shapiro, Mitch McConnell, Clay Travis and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?
On Tuesday, Kimmel addressed his comment that brought on the suspension:
- “The truth is, I don’t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference. If you like me you like me and if you don’t you don’t,” he said. “I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind. But I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human, and that is that you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”
- Kimmel got emotional as he said he posted a message on Instagram the day Charlie Kirk was killed “sending love to his family and asking for compassion.”
- He said it wasn’t his intention to “blame any specific group for the actions (of what was) obviously a deeply disturbed individual” and that he understands that “for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you are upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”
- “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. Ever," he said.
Jimmy Kimmel on Erika Kirk and forgiveness
Kimmel said that as a late-night talk show host and comedian who speaks out on often controversial topics, he has seen “scary threats” against him, his family and his co-workers.
“I know those threats don’t come from the kind of people on the right that I know and love,” he said.
“This show is not important,” Kimmel said. “What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”
As Kimmel closed his monologue, he referenced “a very beautiful moment” at the Charlie Kirk memorial service that was held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday.
“Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband,” he said. “She forgave him. That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace. Forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many, and if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward I hope it can be that, not this.”
What got Jimmy Kimmel suspended?
Kimmel’s suspension was announced Wednesday after he made comments suggesting Charlie Kirk’s killer was a part of the Make America Great Again movement.
“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,” Kimmel said.
The comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said in a press release announcing that Nexstar ABC affiliates would preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
On Monday, Disney announced that the show would return: “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.”
After Disney released its statement, Nexstar, which owns a significant portion of local ABC affiliates, issued a press release saying it would not air the show on Tuesday.
“We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve,” the release stated.