'It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man'

Jimmy Kimmel returned to air last night, calling government threats to silence comedians ‘anti-American’.

The comic was suspended from ABC over comments he made over the assassination of Charlie Kirk – under pressure from regulators FCC and the Trump administration.

In the monologue he thanked those who supported him over the last six days including fellow late night talk show hosts, fans of the show, and those who don’t support what he believes but support his right to share those beliefs anyway.

He said: ‘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.’

And he added: ‘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 our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.’

Despite his return on the Disney-owned ABC network, affiliate stations owned by Nexstar and Sinclair – about a quarter of the total – continued to boycott the show.

And Trump continued his assault on the show, posting on his Truth social media platform, saying: ‘I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his "talent" was never there.

‘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. 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. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.’

Kimmel was criticised last week for talking about the 'MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,' before mocking the way Trump was making political capital out of the murder.

He said last night: 'It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.

'Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what – it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both.

'And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.'

In a later sketch on last night's show, the comedian spoke to the FCC chairman, as played by Robert De Niro.

Published: 24 Sep 2025