Cliff Notes – Jimmy Kimmel returning to TV after Hollywood stars blast his suspension
- Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended after his comments about Charlie Kirk’s death, which sparked outrage and led to over 400 celebrities signing an open letter in support of Kimmel.
- ABC and Disney reversed their decision to suspend Kimmel Live after discussions with the host, stating the initial suspension was due to concerns over the sensitivity of his remarks.
- Former President Trump criticized Kimmel, claiming his suspension was due to poor ratings and a lack of talent, while other late-night hosts condemned the decision as an attack on free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel returning to TV after Hollywood stars blast his suspension
Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to late-night TV days after he was taken off air over his comments regarding Charlie Kirk.
Last week, the beloved host discussed the reception following the death of the right-wing political commentator – who was shot while speaking at a campus event in Utah earlier this month.
In the monologue for Monday’s show, the 57-year-old claimed that the ‘MAGA gang’ was trying to gain political points over the incident, leading to Disney and ABC pulling his show ‘indefinitely’.
After intense outrage from fans, and more than 400 celebrities signing an open letter condemning the decision, bosses have now backtracked and confirmed that Jimmy Kimmel Live will be back on the air tomorrow.
‘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,’ a statement from ABC and Disney said.
‘It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.
Jimmy Kimmel is returning to our screens after his Charlie Kirk comments (Picture: ABC)
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on September 10 (Picture: Reuters)
‘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.’
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was a close ally of President Donald Trump and an infamous commenter on issues including trans rights and gun control.
In shocking scenes, he was shot in the neck while visiting Utah Valley University with his wife and kids as part of his group’s ‘America Comeback Tour’.
On a recent episode of the show – which Kimmel has hosted since 2003 – he referenced the situation in his opening monologue.
Donald Trump claimed Jimmy was fired because he ‘has zero talent’ (Picture: Reuters)
‘We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it,’ he said.
He also mentioned Trump and sarcastically said how ‘hard the President is taking this’, before playing a clip of the politician being asked about Kirk’s death and pointing out construction of the White House.
Jimmy Kimmel Live was removed from broadcasting ‘indefinitely’ in the wake of Kimmel’s comments – a decision which came after Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, said it would not air the show following his remarks.
Jimmy’s monologue aired on last Monday’s show (Picture: Getty)
Trump later touched on the news in a press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, claiming that the five-time Oscars host was suspended because he is ‘not a talented individual’.
‘Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,’ he said.
‘And Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person and he had bad ratings and they should have fired him a long time ago, so you can call that free speech or not, he was fired for lack of talent.’
Which celebrities have signed the open letter?
Celebrities who signed include Adam Scott, Bryan Cranston, Florence Pugh, Pedro Pascal, Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep, Jason Bateman Rainn Wilson, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Selena Gomez, Noah Wyle, Al Yankovic, Katy O’Brian, Tom Hanks, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Michael Shannon, Jonathan Groff, Hank Azaria, Kirsten Dunst, Olivia Rodrigo, Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Regina Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Diego Luna, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Zazie Beetz, Natalie Portman, Maya Rudolph, Rooney Mars, Joaquin Phoenix, Martin Short, Alfred Molina and Kerry Washington
‘Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,’ he added on social media.
‘That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC.’
A number of famous faces spoke out to condemn the decision shortly after, including former President Barack Obama and a number of Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno and David Letterman.
Kimmel has yet to speak out over the news (Picture: Disney)
Stephen Colbert, whose own show was controversially axed in July, reportedly branded his pal’s brief exit ‘blatant censorship’, via CNBC.
He said: ‘This decision came after senior executives at ABC, Disney and affiliates convened emergency meetings during which multiple execs felt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line, but the threat of Trump administration retaliation loomed.
‘With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch.’
More than 400 stars also signed an open letter to publicly call out his suspension, and the attack on free speech.
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