Jimmy Kimmel returns to ABC with emotional monologue: Key takeaways

Back on the air after nearly a week away, ABC host Jimmy Kimmel taped a new episode of his late-night show on Tuesday, using it to directly address the controversy surrounding the suspension of his programme on the channel.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! — his eponymous show — was paused nearly a week after controversial remarks by the host about the alleged assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which provoked backlash from the administration of President Donald Trump and some broadcasters.

“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,” Kimmel said, his voice breaking.

“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he added.

Here is what we know about his return:

What’s the context?

On September 10, Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a university event in Utah. After a 33-hour manhunt, police arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson and charged him with aggravated murder.

Prosecutors later revealed that, despite coming from a staunchly Republican family, Robinson’s politics had recently shifted to the left, based on interviews with his relatives.

Before those details emerged, Kimmel had taken aim at Trump and his supporters, accusing the “MAGA gang” of twisting the story for political gain by claiming the suspect was left-leaning. He also mocked Trump’s response to Kirk’s death – noting that while the president called the slain activist a close friend, he also digressed into remarks about White House renovations – dismissing it as childish.

Those comments led to a strong backlash. On September 17, broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their stations. The controversy escalated further when Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr urged action against Kimmel, Disney, and ABC – a move critics condemned as government overreach.

In the days that followed, some viewers launched a boycott campaign against Disney+, Hulu, and ABC, rallying around hashtags like #CancelDisney and #CancelABC.

What do we know about Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue?

Kimmel returned to his late-night stage with an emotional monologue that ran about 18 minutes, addressing the controversy that had kept his show off the air.

He emphasised that he never intended to assign blame to any group for Kirk’s assassination. But he also criticised efforts by regulators, particularly the FCC, to silence comedians.

“That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s un-American,” Kimmel said.

He thanked those who had stood by him, including fellow late-night hosts and even some unexpected conservative figures.

He acknowledged that he disagreed with Disney’s decision to pull his show, but also expressed gratitude to the company, which owns ABC, for defending his right to satirise the powerful and for allowing him back on the air.

“Unfortunately, and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk,” he added.

Kimmel also took direct aim at the president: “The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from their job. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”

Kimmel closed with a reflection on free expression: “This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”

Kimmel also spoke more broadly about free speech, saying he had learned from comedians like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Howard Stern that “a government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American”.

He said he was heartened to see solidarity across the political spectrum, adding, “We do agree on a lot of things. We agree on keeping our children safe from guns, on reproductive rights for women, social security, affordable healthcare, paediatric cancer research. These are all things that most Americans support. Let’s stop letting these politicians tell us what they want and tell them what we want.”

The most emotional moment came when Kimmel invoked the example of Erika Kirk, who forgave her husband’s assassin during Kirk’s memorial service.

“That is an example we should follow,” he said, his voice breaking. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many, and if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that and not this.

“So, thank you for listening, and I’ll have more to say when we come back.”

What else happened during the show?

In a surprise sketch, 82-year-old Oscar winner Robert De Niro played an unnamed FCC chair occupying Brendan Carr’s office.

When Kimmel suggested the FCC was using mob tactics, De Niro shot back, “What the f*** did you just say to me?”

As Kimmel reminded him about broadcast restrictions, De Niro dismissed the warning: “I am the f****** FCC, I can say whatever … I want.”

He then added, “It’s just me, Jimmy, the chairman of the FCC, gently suggesting that you gently shut the f*** up.”

Later, De Niro unveiled the FCC’s new motto: “Sticks and stones may break your bones.” When Kimmel filled in the familiar ending – “But words can never harm you” – De Niro corrected him: “Oh, well, they can harm you now. Let’s make sure you pick the right words. Capisce?”

What has been Trump’s reaction?

In advance of Tuesday’s broadcast, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to say he “can’t believe” ABC decided to bring Kimmel back, and he hinted at possible further action against the network.

“Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” Trump wrote.

He added: “He is yet another arm of the DNC [Democratic National Committee] and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this.”

Have there been other reactions?

The New York Times reported that on Tuesday, just hours before the host’s taping, about a dozen supporters gathered outside Kimmel’s Hollywood Boulevard studio.

Later that evening, according to CNN, the host was met with several minutes of thunderous applause as he walked onto the stage – so loud that one audience member described it as “ear-damaging, to be honest”.

“We are back full of love,” Guillermo Rodriguez shared on Instagram as they returned to the studio to tape the new episode hours before its debut.

Guillermo Rodriguez is a Mexican-American TV personality and comedian, best known as Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! He shot to fame after being spotted working as a parking attendant at the Hollywood Boulevard studio, and he has kept up the act ever since as the programme’s on-screen security guard.