Jimmy Kimmel Returns: ABC Revives Late-Night Show This Tuesday – Here’s The Full Statement

Jimmy Kimmel is heading back to late-night TV this week. ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return on Tuesday night after the network held what it called “thoughtful conversations” with its parent company, Disney.

A Disney spokesperson explained the decision in a statement shared with Deadline: “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.” Disney said.

The controversy started after Kimmel made remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. On his show last Monday, Kimmel said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”

That comment sparked backlash. FCC chairman Brendan Carr told ABC that the comedian’s words were “some of the sickest conduct possible” and warned the network that it needed to “find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” Later, Carr insisted he was not threatening to pull ABC’s broadcast licenses.

The reaction spread quickly. Nexstar, one of the biggest local TV station groups in the country, said it would stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! for now because it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk.” Sinclair, another station group, followed with a similar move. Disney then stepped in and paused the show.

Over the next few days, the suspension drew even more attention. Some Hollywood stars, including Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, blasted what they saw as government interference in free speech. Others, like She-Hulk actress Tatiana Maslany and Rosie O’Donnell, pushed fans to cancel their Disney subscriptions in protest.

Kimmel also got support from fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. Former hosts David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno joined in too.

Even some conservative voices came to his defense. Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees the FCC, warned that silencing Kimmel could backfire in the future. He pointed out that Democrats might one day use the same precedent to target conservatives.

After nearly a week of debate, Disney and Kimmel agreed to bring the show back. The network says the late-night host will be back on the air starting Tuesday.

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