Jimmy Kimmel made his long-awaited return to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 23, less than a week after ABC abruptly suspended the show in response to backlash over his comments about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The episode opened with a montage of news coverage about his suspension and reinstatement before cutting to Kimmel and sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez in lighthearted costumes.
Once on stage, however, Kimmel quickly turned serious, balancing jokes with heartfelt reflection.
“Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted,” Kimmel quipped to a standing ovation. “If you’re just joining us, we are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report.”
He joked that his time away was surreal: “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol.”
Kimmel went on to thank those who reached out, saying he had heard from “every person I’ve ever met, 10 or 11 times,” and name-dropping fellow late-night hosts including Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Conan O’Brien, James Corden, Chelsea Handler, Wanda Sykes, Kathy Griffin, Arsenio Hall, and Jay Leno.
He also acknowledged unexpected support from conservative figures such as Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Clay Travis.
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“Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show or what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” Kimmel said, visibly moved.
Addressing his controversial remarks about Kirk’s murder, Kimmel teared up as he clarified: “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. There’s nothing funny about that. I posted a message of compassion to his family and I meant it then, I mean it now.”
He admitted some of his comments may have been “ill-timed or unclear” and said he understood why some people were upset.
The comedian then shifted to a broader defense of free expression: “If we don’t have free speech, we don’t have a free country. It’s as simple as that.”
He criticized the FCC and Donald Trump, who had celebrated his suspension.
Taking direct aim at Trump, Kimmel declared: “You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this.”
Though Disney and ABC reinstated the show, major affiliate groups including Sinclair and Nexstar have continued to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with FCC chair Brendan Carr praising their decision.
Kimmel closed by reminding viewers of the bigger picture: “I never imagined I’d be in a situation like this. I barely paid attention in school. But this isn’t just about me or a TV show, it’s about whether we get to keep laughing, even when it makes some people uncomfortable.”
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