NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to late-night television Tuesday after a nearly weeklong suspension that triggered a national discussion about freedom of speech and President Donald Trump's ability to police the words of journalists, commentators and even comics.
But two groups of ABC affiliates that denounced Kimmel last week said they would not carry his return. Nexstar Media Group said it would continue to preempt the show, “pending assurances that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.” Sinclair Broadcast Group said it would also keep Kimmel off its stations. The two corporations collectively control about a quarter of ABC affiliates.
ABC, which suspended Kimmel's show last Wednesday following criticism of his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, announced Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return after the network had “thoughtful conversations” with the host.
“Our long national late nightmare is over,” Stephen Colbert joked on his CBS show in response to Kimmel's reinstatement.
ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made in a monologue last week. Kimmel suggested that many Trump supporters were trying to capitalize on Kirk’s death and were "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr last week said it appeared that Kimmel was trying to “directly mislead the American public” with his remarks about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man charged with Kirk's killing, and his motives. Those motives remain unclear. Authorities say Robinson grew up in a conservative family, but his mother told investigators his son had turned left politically in the last year.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said before ABC announced the suspension. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Those remarks set a backlash in motion, with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz saying that Carr acted like “a mafioso.” Hundreds of entertainment luminaries, including Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Aniston, signed a letter circulated by the American Civil Liberties Union that called ABC's move “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
Some consumers punished ABC parent Disney by canceling subscriptions to its streaming services.
Trump had hailed Kimmel's suspension, even inaccurately saying the show had been canceled. Kimmel has been a relentless Trump critic in his comedy.
Trump's administration has used threats, lawsuits and federal government pressure to try to exert more control over the media industry. Trump sued ABC and CBS over news coverage, which the companies settled. Trump has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and successfully urged Congress to strip federal funding from NPR and PBS.
How — or even whether — Kimmel would address the controversy on his first show back remained a mystery. Millions of people are likely to watch.
Disney and ABC executives reportedly negotiated the return for several days before announcing the resolution. The ABC statement said the suspension happened because some of Kimmel's comments were “ill-timed and thus insensitive,” but it did not call them misleading.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk and now headed by his widow, posted on X that “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make.”
The suspension happened at a time when the late-night landscape is shifting. Shows are losing viewers, in part because many watch highlights the next day online. CBS announced the cancellation of Colbert’s show over the summer. Kimmel's contract with ABC reportedly lasts through May.
Colbert, in his opening monologue Monday, grabbed his recently won Emmy Award for outstanding talk series, saying, “Once more, I am the only martyr on late night!”
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Associated Press writers Mark Kennedy and James Pollard in New York and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.
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NEW YORK (AP) — ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials with the network said Monday.
"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,” ABC said a statement.
ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely on Wednesday after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Kimmel has hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC since 2003 and has been a fixture in television and comedy for even longer. He is also well known as a presenter, having hosted the Academy Awards four times.
Backlash to Kimmel’s comments was swift. Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners, said they would be pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from their stations. Others, including several fellow comedians, came to his defense.
Sinclair said Monday that it would not air Kimmel's show Tuesday and would broadcast news programming instead. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show's potential return,” the company said. There was no immediate comment from Nexstar on its plans for Kimmel's return.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk and now headed by his widow, posted on X about Kimmel's reinstatement: “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it's their mistake to make. Nexstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.”
Stephen Colbert joyfully reacted to the news during the opening of his “Late Show,” telling his audience that “our long national, late nightmare is over.”
Colbert, whose late show is being canceled by CBS after this season, said he was happy for his friend and the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” staff. Grabbing his recently-won Emmy Award for outstanding talk series, the comedian could hardly contain his glee. He added, “Once more, I am the only martyr on late night!”
President Donald Trump, one of Kimmel’s frequent targets, posted on social media that Kimmel’s suspension was “great news for America.” He also called for other late night hosts to be fired. He has yet to comment on Kimmel's reinstatement.
Kimmel’s suspension arrived in a time when Trump and his administration have pursued threats, lawsuits and federal government pressure to try to exert more control over the media industry. Trump has reached settlements with ABC and CBS over their coverage.
Trump has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Republicans in Congress stripped federal funding from NPR and PBS.
Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a warning prior to Kimmel’s suspension that criticized Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk assassination.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr denied on Monday that he threatened to revoke ABC's local station licenses because of Kimmel's remarks.
“Jimmy Kimmel is in the situation he’s in because of his ratings. Not because of anything that’s happened at the federal government level,” Carr said at the Concordia Annual Summit.
Kimmel’s suspension has cast a spotlight on the web of business interests that require approval from the U.S. government. Disney, for instance, needs approval from the Trump administration for ESPN to complete its acquisition of the NFL Network, while Nexstar needs the administration’s approval to complete its $6.2 billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna. Sinclair has petitioned the FCC to relax rules limiting broadcaster ownership of stations.
The suspension also happened at a time when the late night landscape is shifting. CBS announced the cancellation of Colbert’s show over the summer.
Kimmel’s contract with The Walt Disney Co.-owned network had been set to expire in May 2026. His representative did not return a message seeking comment Monday.
Word of the reinstatement came as hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars — including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep — urged Americans “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights” in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.
More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that argues it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
Also Monday, ABC's “The View” weighed in on the controversy after not raising it for two episodes after Kimmel was suspended. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg opened the show saying: “No one silences us” and she and her fellow hosts condemned Disney's decision.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said Monday evening he’s willing to appear at a town hall hosted by a local ABC station after earlier canceling his appearance due to Kimmel's suspension.
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This story has been updated to correct that last name of Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet.