JIMMY Kimmel returned to his show on Tuesday night after ABC yanked him from the air nearly a week ago.
Kimmel, 57, addressed his audience after his show was pulled last week over controversial comments he made about political activist and influencer Charlie Kirk’s shooter.
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During his opening monologue, Kimmel took the time to speak out about free speech and the political climate in America.
Kimmel took the stage as he was welcomed with a standing ovation and chants of “Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy.”
The comedian opened the show with a crack, “If you’re just joining us, we are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report.”
“I’m happy to be here tonight,” he added.
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol,” he said with a chuckle.
Kimmel took the time to thank a slew of friends, including his “fellow late-night talk show hosts, my friend Stephen Colbert who found himself in this predicament. My friend, John Stewart, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon.”
He also thanked the many people who don’t align with his political leanings but who still stood up for his right to say it.
He thanked Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, and then said “and even my old pal Ted Cruz,” before running a sound bite from the Texas senator.
Kimmel then continued “Some of the things they say even make me want to throw up. It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration. They did it. They deserve credit for it.”
ON HIS COMMENTS ON CHARLIE KIRK’S KILLER
The late-night host’s voice cracked as he opened up about the murder of activist Charlie Kirk and cleared the air, denouncing his killing unequivocally.
He continued, “I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human and that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said as he fought back tears.
“I posted a message on Instagram of the days killed, sending love to [Kirk’s] family and asking for compassion, and I meant it, and I still do, nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.”
“That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either it was ill-timed or unclear or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset,” he continued.
“If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way. I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all, 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 it ever and also, selfishly, I am the person who gets a lot of threats. I get many ugly and scary threats against my life, my wife, my kids, my co workers because of what I choose to say, and I know those threats don’t come from the kind of people on the right who I know and love.”
“So that’s what I wanted to say on that subject,” he continued.
ON RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH
Kimmel then turned to the First Amendment, explaining that he’s spoken with comedians in countries like Russia and the Middle East who said they’d be thrown in jail or worse for making fun of those in power.
“They know how lucky we are here.
“Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country, and that’s something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Steven [Colbert] off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air.
“That’s not legal. That’s not American. That is un-American.”
RATINGS BOOST?
As The U.S. Sun previously revealed, ABC execs are expecting Tuesday night’s show will prove a ratings boom.
The source said, “Everybody is excited about Kimmel’s expected ratings boost this week.
“Jimmy is becoming an icon for free speech… and now he’ll be even more secure as long as he plays his cards right.”
However, the late night host’s big return wasn’t aired in all markets.
Affiliate carriers, Sinclair and Nexstar, said they wouldn’t be airing Kimmel’s return on their stations.
“There are ongoing talks this morning [Tuesday] between Nexstar, Sinclair, and Disney, but Disney has drawn the line and is prepared for the fight,” an insider revealed.
On Monday night, Sinclair Broadcasting Group announced its decision to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! across its ABC affiliate stations, replacing the program with local news.
However, an insider pointed out that affiliate stations have contractual obligations to carry ABC programming, including advertisements that have already been sold.
The source alleged, “The affiliates are basically posturing for the White House,” while suggesting that the companies may be attempting to breach their contracts with ABC.
NEXSTAR’S BIG MOVE
Nexstar is seeking approval from the Trump administration’s FCC for an unprecedented acquisition of its competitor, Tegna, according to The New York Times.
If approved, the deal would likely surpass the current cap on households a single media company can reach.
An insider told The U.S. Sun that Disney is ready to take on Sinclair and Nexstar in the ongoing dispute over the suspension of Kimmel Live!
“Disney legal is prepared to fight it out, and right now, from a brand perspective, they’ve got nothing to lose by fighting,” the source said. “Disney holds the cards here.”
When reached for comment by The U.S. Sun, Nexstar declined to respond.
ABC and Sinclair were also contacted for comment.
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LATE NIGHT DRAMA
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended after backlash erupted over controversial comments the comedian made regarding the suspected assassin of activist and influencer Charlie Kirk.
Just hours before his scheduled return on Tuesday night, Kimmel broke his silence.
The comedian posted a photo of himself with his late friend and producer Norman Lear, captioned, “Missing this guy today.”
KIMMEL RETURNS
On Monday afternoon, ABC issued a statement confirming that “thoughtful discussions” had taken place with Kimmel following his suspension.
The statement read, “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.”
EXACTLY WHAT KIMMEL SAID THAT GOT HIM YANKED
This is Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue from Monday, September 15, that got the show pulled from air.
Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
“In between the finger-pointing, the White House flew the flag at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president was taking this,” he continued before the show cut to a clip of Trump.
The president was seen standing on the White House lawn as a reporter asked him how he was “holding up” a day and a half following Kirk’s death.
“I think very good,” said Trump before abruptly pointing to trucks and saying they are starting construction on the new White House ballroom.
The show then cut back to Kimmel, who said, “He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,” before the audience burst out in laughter.
“This is not how an adult grieved the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish. OK?”
Kimmel said this wasn’t the first time that Trump has dodged questions about Kirk, and the show cut to an interview the president had with Fox & Friends the morning after the conservative activist’s death.
Trump told the hosts that he was chatting with architects about the White House project when he learned about the shooting before the show cut back to Kimmel.
“And then we installed the most beautiful chandelier,” mocked Kimmel.
CHAOS ON SET
As The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed last week, the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! was made just minutes before taping began on Wednesday, September 17th.
“Things transpired very fast. Word filtered down to the individual stations around 3 pm that Jimmy would get pulled, and it sent station heads panicking,” an insider shared.
“Jimmy and the crew were getting ready to film when, at 3:45 pm, news broke widely, and that’s how the crew found out. They were shocked.”
Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, described Kimmel’s remarks as “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
KIRK’S MURDER
Charlie Kirk was killed on September 10th while speaking with students at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Tyler Robinson, 22, allegedly fired a single shot at Kirk, according to officials.
Robinson turned himself in 33 hours later after confessing the crime to his family, Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed.
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