Six days after his “indefinite” suspension from ABC, a last-minute temper tantrum and extortion attempt from Donald Trump, and thousands of Disney+ subscription cancellations, Jimmy Kimmel made his triumphant return to late night on Tuesday. The highly anticipated 28-minute monologue featured a tasteful mixture of tears, biting remarks and good-old fashioned Smurf jokes.
Like Stephen Colbert at the Emmys, Kimmel was met by a standing ovation from his live studio audience before he could even really start talking. A hero’s welcome for someone who unwittingly became the face of the First Amendment when he addressed the murder of right-winger Charlie Kirk last Wednesday.
But Kimmel didn’t fall into the trap so easily laid out for him; one where he could bask in the stolen valor of being Trump’s “most vulnerable” punching bag. Instead, the segment showed Kimmel at his sharpest and most emotional. It was a far-cry from earlier iterations of the Man Show comedian.
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“If you’re just joining us, we are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report,” Kimmel started. “I’m happy to be here tonight with you.”
He then went through a rapid fire round on Trump’s ahistorical and anti-scientific turn on Tylenol and the outpouring of support he received from people all over the world, including the cabal of late-night show hosts, the likes of which included David Letterman, Jon Stewart and John Oliver, all of whom extended their platforms in service of advocating for Kimmel.
Trump and Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr’s overstep was so egregious that Kimmel’s defenders weren’t limited to the liberal class either; Kimmel dedicated a full bit to thanking Republican Senator Ted Cruz for the Trump servant’s selfishly motivated defense of Kimmel’s rights. He didn’t let Cruz off the hook with a simple thank you, however. “This affects all of us, including him,” Kimmel noted. “I mean, think about it: If Ted Cruz can’t speak freely, then he can’t cast spells on the Smurfs.”
Amid a lot of digs at Carr and Trump — Kimmel also toed the line of apologizing. He didn’t roll over for those (Sinclair, Nexstar, Trump supporters on Reddit) pressuring him to prostrate himself, but he wasn’t flippant about the accusations that he made light of Kirk’s murder, either. It was a delicate balance, maybe an impossible one.
“I’ve been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight,” Kimmel said. “And the truth is I don’t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference. If you like me, you like me. If you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind.”
After he humbled the power of his own influence, he got tears in his eyes. Kimmel then went on to make a heartfelt plea. “I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human,” Kimmel explained. “And that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram of the day he was killed sending love to his 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.”
Will this emotional acknowledgement assuage Trump or his most rabid followers? Not likely. But to the millions of Americans who tuned in tonight, Kimmel struck the right cord. He managed to display real backbone against the authoritarian administration who at this moment is likely drafting another scammy lawsuit, while throwing elbows at the clowns who participated in the madness. Sinclair and Nexstar were mocked. There was an acknowledgement of the number of people who canceled their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions that doubled as the only criticism of Disney and ABC we got for the night.
“A lot of people have been asking me if there are conditions for my return to the air, and there is one,” Kimmel said. “Disney has asked me to read the following statement, and I’ve agreed to do it. To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account, open the Disney+ app on your smart TV or TV connected device.”
He rounded out his monologue with a whole Robert De Niro gangster featurette mocking Carr, before he dove into a truly regular spate of late-night programming. Glenn Powell was the handsome guest. Sarah McLachlan sang a beautiful song. If any of the millions of Americans who tuned in to see Kimmel get even stuck around after the commercial break, they were treated to a normal night of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
He signed off by saying we’d see him tomorrow night — maybe!