Jimmy Kimmel show will return on air after 'highly criticized' suspension. US entertainment company, Disney has announced on Monday, September22, 2025 that the late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return on air from Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
Moreover, the company announced that it will return on air 6-days after it 'indefinitely' suspended the late-night talk show over comments, the host had made in his monologue about the conservative activist’s Charlie kirk’s death and his alleged killer.
According to Walt Disney, which owns ABC, stated that the suspension was to "avoid further inflaming a tense situation" and that they had "thoughtful conversations with Jimmy" before reaching the decision to bring the show back.
While the show will be returning to ABC, some major television station owners, including Sinclair, have stated they will continue to pre-empt the program with news programming.
The Jimmy Kimmel show was taken off-air on September 17, 2025 after he criticized what he called the "MAGA gang" for "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and for "capitalizing on the murder of Charlie Kirk" to score political points.
Moreover, He also mocked President Trump's and Vice President J.D. Vance's responses to the killing.
In addition to that, Kimmel’s comments drew immediate criticism from conservative figures and media outlets and was followed by a public warning from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, who called the remarks "truly sick" and suggested that the agency could "take action" against broadcasters who aired the show.
Following FCC, major television station owners, including Nexstar and Sinclair, announced that they would no longer air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their ABC-affiliated stations and called Kimmel's remarks "offensive and insensitive."
Under pressure from the affiliates and the government, Disney’s ABC took decision and announced it would "pre-empt indefinitely" Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The network later released a statement saying the decision was made "to avoid further inflaming a tense situation" and because some of the comments were "ill-timed and thus insensitive."
Furthermore, the suspension sparked a national debate about free speech, government pressure on the media, and "cancel culture."
More than 430 Hollywood stars, including comedians, directors and writers, urged Americans to "fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights".
The list of signatures also included Emmy and Oscar winners.
“Our voices should never be silenced”, Robbert De Nero, Ben Afflick, Jennifer Aniston, Salena Gomez, Lin Manuel Marinda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep were among those who have penned the appeal, reports Sky news.
The letter was addressed to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and argued the decision was a "dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation".
The letter added: "Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power - because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us."
In addition to that the Writers Guild of America also wrote in a blistering statement,
“The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people.”
“It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice,“ they added.
The show was ultimately reinstated after a few days, following "thoughtful conversations" between Disney and Kimmel.