Jimmy Kimmel returned emotional to ABC, after his show’s temporary suspension due to comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder, attempting to clarify the remarks he had made about the TPUSA founder.
In his first show back, Kimmel emphasized that he never intended to trivialize the tragic event and expressed his sympathy to Kirk’s family. With visible emotion he stressed: “I never wanted to make fun of a young man’s murder. There’s nothing funny about that,” while also referencing an Instagram post where he expressed love and support for Kirk’s family.
During the show, he thanked colleagues and the audience, including conservative viewers who supported him. His first guests were actor Glen Powell, who expressed honor at Kimmel’s return, and singer Sarah McLachlan. Despite his return, several stations, mainly from Sinclair and Nexstar covering about one-third of ABC affiliate stations, decided not to air the show.
The host closed the show with a reference to the controversy that occupied him, joking: “I think we’ll be back tomorrow night too, see you then.”
The suspension had been caused by Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s murder, where he accused the “MAGA team” of trying to portray the suspect as “something other than their own.” Disney, ABC’s parent company, had announced the suspension to avoid further tension in an already emotionally charged period for the country.
