Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program will return to ABC on Tuesday, nearly a week after being pulled from the air in the wake of backlash to the host’s comments about the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, according to an NBC News report.
“The Walt Disney Company said in a statement Monday that production was suspended ‘to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.’ The company added, ‘We felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,’” NBC News reported.
Disney said it spent several days in “thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel before deciding the show could resume.
The suspension came after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC affiliate licenses over Kimmel’s remarks, which he called “the sickest conduct possible.”
That warning sparked broader debate about whether political pressure was being applied to a television network over a comedian’s comments. Media watchdog groups voiced alarm at what they described as an attempt to chill free expression through regulatory threats. Many viewers began canceling subscriptions to Disney+ and Disney-owned Hulu in the aftermath of the suspension.
President Donald Trump publicly praised the decision to remove Kimmel from the air, saying the late-night host had long engaged in “disgusting attacks” and that “ABC finally did the right thing.” Trump’s comments further fueled concerns that the White House was encouraging federal regulators to punish networks that air critical voices.
In his monologue last Monday, Kimmel — who has often targeted Trump and his allies — criticized what he called the “MAGA gang,” accusing them of “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.”
Authorities in Utah said Tuesday that the suspect accused of shooting Kirk had recently “started to lean more left” and targeted Kirk specifically for his “political expression,” NBC News reported.