Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has returned to his show on ABC after Disney lifted his suspension over Charlie Kirk comments.
Disney, the parent company of the broadcaster, issued a statement saying that the decision to suspend the production of Jimmy Kimmel Live! was made “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,” the company said.
Disney said it had spent the last days “having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy,” after which it decided that Kimmel would return to the show on Tuesday, September 23rd.
Back on air, Kimmel said that it was "never my intention" to make light of Kirk's murder and said that US President Donald Trump's threats against him and others who criticize him are "un-American."
Kimmel was suspended last week after a controversial monologue during a show that angered US President Donald Trump’s MAGA base by suggesting that Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of the right-wing activist, was one of their own.
He also said that the Republicans were doing “everything they can to score political points” from Kirk’s killing, which prompted a strong reaction from Trump supporters and officials.
Trump said he "can't believe" Kimmel got his job back on ABC, threatening to go after the broadcaster. "I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do," the president said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
ABC only moved to suspend the show after Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed head of the US media regulator, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States (FCC), threatened the broadcaster’s license if it did not take action.
The move was congratulated by Trump and his supporters, but has also led to a public outcry accusing the administration of censorship and calls to boycott Disney.
Disney price increase for its streaming services may have partly been a reason why the company rushed to reach a deal, according to some sources.
SCOOP — Part of the reason Disney/ABC may have rushed to sort things out with Kimmel is because tomorrow they have a planned price increase for Disney+ streaming, a Disney source tells me. With subscriptions hemorrhaging since last week, they couldn’t risk losing more users with this announcement.
undefined Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) September 22, 2025 at 11:20 PM
During his monologue on Tuesday, Kimmel thanked Disney for welcoming him back on air and asked fans not to cancel their subscriptions. He joked that Disney asked him to read out of a piece of paper titled, "How to reactivate your Disney+ subscription."
ABC’s decision to suspend him was condemned by entertainment industry trade unions and fellow late-night hosts, including Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and Stephen Colbert.
Hundreds of Hollywood stars, including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Robert De Niro, signed an open letter calling Kimmel’s suspension a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
After Kimmel was suspended, Trump said that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers should be next. He also suggested TV networks that are critical of him should have their licenses “taken away.”
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Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, said it would replace Jimmy Kimmel Live! with news programming across its stations starting today, but added that it was discussing the show’s “potential return.”
It previously said it would not lift the suspension of the show, calling Kimmel’s remarks “inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country.”
Nexstar Media, one of the biggest TV station owners in the country, also said last week that it would not air Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future.” Following the announcement of Kimmel's return, it said that "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."
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