Jimmy Kimmel Returns Tuesday As ABC Ends Suspension

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Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to late-night television on Tuesday.

ABC has confirmed that “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is back on the air after being temporarily paused for a week. The suspension caused a lot of discussion about freedom of speech, whether political forces influenced the decision, and what responsibility networks have in these situations.

ABC Explains Its Decision

Disney and ABC announced they temporarily paused production to avoid adding to the already difficult atmosphere in the country. They explained that after talking with Jimmy Kimmel, they decided to bring the show back on the air.

Disney CEO Bob Iger and Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, signed off on the decision. The company emphasized that it was made through internal conversations, not due to external influence.

We decided to temporarily stop making the show last Wednesday to prevent making a difficult national moment even more upsetting. We felt some recent comments weren’t appropriate for the current climate, as we explained to *Variety*. After careful discussions with Jimmy, we’ve decided to bring the show back on Tuesday.

Affiliate Pushback and FCC Pressure

The show was temporarily taken off the air after criticism from Nexstar and Sinclair, major television station groups, who said they wouldn’t air it. This followed a statement by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that comedian Jimmy Kimmel should face consequences for his comments about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. However, former President Trump stated his administration didn’t ask ABC to cancel Kimmel’s program.

Jimmy Kimmel criticized how Trump responded to the death of John Kirk and delivered a pointed speech targeting conservative voters.

Creative Community Responds

The suspension drew strong criticism from Hollywood.

Over 400 artists-including prominent names like Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Martin Short, and Natalie Portman-joined the ACLU in signing an open letter protesting the action as a danger to free speech. Groups representing a wide range of political views also expressed their concerns.

What Happens Next

I’m really wondering if Jimmy Kimmel will address the recent controversy when he’s back on Tuesday. It’s happened before with other late-night hosts – I remember David Letterman, Bill Maher, and Samantha Bee all had to clarify or apologize for things they said. So, it’ll be interesting to see if Jimmy does the same.

So, from what I’m hearing, after Kimmel made those comments that everyone’s talking about, he was apparently planning to really lean into criticizing conservatives even more. That’s when ABC and Disney stepped in and basically put a stop to it, pulling him off the air, it sounds like.

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2025-09-23 00:01