AfriPulse
Jimmy Kimmel got emotional as he marked his return to late-night television after being suspended over comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
During his opening monologue on Tuesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the comedian addressed his previous remarks about the late right-wing political activist.
“I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but 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,” the 57-year-old said as his voice broke. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.
An emotional Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night television on Tuesday
Following a nearly week-long suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” the host cried on TV.
“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,” he continued, referencing his social media post on Sept. 10.
“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 ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger… I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”
Kimmel addressed his previous remarks about Charlie Kirk in his monologue.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said as his voice broke.
His return came one day after ABC confirmed that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be on the air again after it was abruptly yanked on Sept. 17.
“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,” the company wrote in a statement obtained by Page Six.
“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.”
However, two of ABC’s affiliate stations, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, refused to broadcast Kimmel’s show.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.” Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
His “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show was suspended on Sept. 17 following his comments about the assassination of Kirk. Getty Images
On Sept. 17, Kimmel was pulled off the air “indefinitely” following his comments on Kirk’s death on a Utah campus a week prior.
“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,” he said during his Sept. 15 monologue.
His comment caused uproar within Nextsar, who reached out to ABC to threaten to pre-empt the show and assert that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” per Variety.
“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesperson for ABC told us on Sept. 17. Disney via Getty Images
A producer on the show reportedly told the Daily Mail that Kimmel was “livid” over the decision. Variety via Getty Images
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr also indicated he was looking into the possibility of an investigation into Kimmel’s on-air comments, which seemingly insinuated that the suspect in Kirk’s murder — 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah — was a supporter of Trump’s MAGA political ideology.
“When you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible,” Carr said during an appearance on “The Benny Show” podcast on Wednesday, according to TMZ.
“There are avenues here for the FCC — so there are some ways in which I need to be a little bit careful because we could be called ultimately to be a judge on some of these claims that come up. But, I don’t think this is an isolated incident.”
Carr added, “They have license granted by us at the FCC and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”
Sources told the Daily Mail that Kimmel is “actively looking for ways to get out of his contract.” Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube
Another source said they’d never seen the comedian “this angry.” Disney
President Trump took to Truth Social the same day to celebrate the news, writing, “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
Though reps for Kimmel did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment, a producer on the show told the Daily Mail that the talk show host was “absolutely f–king livid.”
“This is clearly the government overreaching,” they added. “There’s no such thing as free speech in America, if the government can lean on companies to stop any content they don’t like.”
“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,” Kimmel said during the Sept. 15 episode of his talk show. GC Images
Kimmel previously reacted to the Kirk assassination via social media. “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote in part. AFP via Getty Images
Sources for the outlet added that Kimmel was “pissed” and was “actively looking for ways to get out of his contract.” Another said they had never seen the comedian “this angry.”
Several A-list celebrities, including Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston, rallied around Kimmel in a signed letter that referred to his suspension as “a dark moment for freedom of speech.”
Meanwhile, the media company for ABC’s largest affiliate group, Sinclair, issued a list of demands for Kimmel to return to his post on the late-night program, which included him sending a direct apology to Kirk’s family, making a donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.
This story was featured on a recent episode of Page Six Radio , a daily morning show serving up the hottest celebrity headlines, exclusives, and behind-the-scenes buzz. Catch Danny, Evan and Ian chat with celebrity guests every weekday on SiriusXM from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET on Stars Ch. 109.
SiriusXM service required. See Offer Details.
Source: PageSix | Read the Full Story…
