Jimmy Kimmel returns with emotional monologue defending free speech

Jimmy Kimmel is back, and in his first public words since ABC benched him, he ardently defended free speech, growing emotional throughout the opening monologue of his late-night show.

Tuesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” marked the host’s return since Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC announced last week that it was suspending his show indefinitely. The decision came after Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of ABC affiliates, said they would not air the talk series because of comments Kimmel made about the suspect in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Even after Disney reversed the suspension, both companies said they would continue to keep “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off air.

Kimmel was greeted by the studio audience with a long standing ovation and chants of “Jimmy.” He cracked a joke to open: “Who had a weirder 48 hours — me or the CEO of Tylenol?”

The host said he was moved by the support he had received from friends and fans, but especially from those who typically disagree with him. He cited comments from Ted Cruz and mentioned the support he received from Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

“Our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television, and we have to stand up to it,” he said. “I’ve been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight, and the truth is, I don’t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference. If you like me, you like me; if you don’t, you don’t; I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind.”

What was most important to him, though, was imparting that it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said through tears, referring to Kirk.

“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,” Kimmel said of his comments about Kirk’s suspected killer. “If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way. I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all. I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution and it isn’t.”

Kimmel also said his ability to speak freely is “something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air.”

“That’s not legal,” he continued. “That’s not American. That is un-American.”

The host said he knew many people were wondering if there were any conditions to his return, and he said there was one: that he read a statement from Disney. He proceeded to read off instructions on how to reactivate Disney+ and Hulu accounts, referring to the many people who canceled their subscriptions in protest of ABC’s move last week.

He thanked Disney for welcoming him back on the air and said he thinks the company is “unfortunately and unjustly” at risk. “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.”

Kimmel also noted that Trump has said he hopes Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers’ respective NBC series are next on the chopping block, and said he hopes those who supported him are “10 times as loud as you were this week” if those shows are targeted.

Kimmel did not explicitly apologize for his comments, which Sinclair said was a condition that had to be met before it would air the show again.

The host also said he “felt sorry” for President Trump, since he “tried his best to cancel” him. “Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show,” he continued. “He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this.”

After the monologue, Kimmel said the show reached out to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, who he said had agreed to join the show, cutting to a video feed with Robert De Niro, who seemed to channel his character from “Goodfellas.” Last week, Carr said on a podcast, “We can do it the easy way or the hard way,” urging ABC to act on Kimmel’s comments about Kirk and his killer shortly before Disney benched him.

“You don’t need to know my name, and I am the new chairman of the FCC,” said De Niro to a puzzled Kimmel. The host had seemingly overheard De Niro threatening “The View” host Whoopi Goldberg, but he insisted he was simply “teaching a lesson about consequences.”

“It seems like the FCC is using mob tactics to suppress free speech,” Kimmel said, to which De Niro replied with “What the f— did you just say to me?”

“About that free speech? It ain’t free no more,” he went on. “We’re charging by the word now.”

He clarified the price depends on what you’re trying to say: If you’re looking to say “something nice about the president’s beautiful, thick, yellow hair, how he can do his makeup better than any broad, that’s free.” But if you want to crack a joke about how the president is “so fat he needs two seats on the Epstein jet,” that’ll run you “a couple of fingers, maybe a tooth.”

After the segment, Kimmel proceeded with business as usual, making jokes about Trump’s snafus at the United Nations Tuesday and his comments about how taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of autism in children, of which there is minimal evidence.

Kimmel did not comment on his suspension until Tuesday’s episode, which airs on the West Coast at 11:35 p.m. PT, but talk show hosts, actors, comedians, writers and even the former head of Disney had condemned ABC’s decision to pause production.

Hours before he taped Tuesday’s episode, Kimmel posted on Instagram for the first time since his suspension, sharing a photo of himself with iconic television creator Norman Lear. Kimmel captioned the photo “Missing this guy today.” The late Lear, whom Kimmel collaborated with on the television specials “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” was an outspoken advocate for freedom of speech and the 1st Amendment and he founded the organization People for the American Way, which aims to stop censorship as one of its many goals.

Trump also took to social media before Tuesday’s episode to express his thoughts about Kimmel’s return, writing on Truth Social that he couldn’t believe the show was coming back: “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled [sic]!”

“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 continued. “He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution.”

He went on to write he wanted to “test ABC out on this.”

“Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars,” he wrote, referencing the settlement with ABC after Trump filed a defamation lawsuit over inaccurate statements made about him by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. “This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”

Pressure to suspend Kimmel came from FCC head Carr, who said in a podcast interview with right-wing commentator Benny Johnson that ABC had to act on Kimmel’s comments.

Hours later, Nexstar, which controls 32 ABC affiliates, agreed to drop “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely, and ABC followed with its own announcement that it was pulling Kimmel from the network. Sinclair, which has long been sympathetic to conservative causes, also shelved the show and went a step further by demanding that Kimmel make a financial contribution to Kirk’s family and his conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA.

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, one of three commissioners, and the only Democratic member, released a searing statement the next day.

Gomez said the FCC “does not have the authority, the ability, or the constitutional right to police content or punish broadcasters for speech the government dislikes” and called the network’s move a “shameful show of cowardly corporate capitulation by ABC that has put the foundation of the First Amendment in danger.”

“When corporations surrender in the face of that pressure, they endanger not just themselves, but the right to free expression for everyone in this country,” Gomez continued. “The duty to defend the First Amendment does not rest with government, but with all of us. Free speech is the foundation of our democracy, and we must push back against any attempt to erode it.”

Times staff writers Stephen Battaglio and Meg James contributed to this report.