ABC Reinstates Jimmy Kimmel After Suspension Over Kirk Remarks

ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, ending the late-night host’s suspension over comments about the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The network said Monday it had “thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel before deciding to bring him back. He was pulled off the air after a monologue in which he accused “MAGA land” of exploiting Kirk’s killing and said supporters were trying to downplay the suspect’s ties to the movement.

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Backlash was swift. Major affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair said they would drop the show, while President Donald Trump hailed the suspension as “great news for America” and called for more late-night hosts to be fired. Fellow comedians and Hollywood stars rallied to Kimmel’s defense, with more than 430 entertainers — including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, and Lin-Manuel Miranda — signing an ACLU-backed letter warning that the suspension marked “a dark moment for freedom of speech.”

Kimmel, who has hosted the show since 2003, has long been a Trump critic. In a summer interview with Variety, he admitted it would be “naive not to worry” about government retaliation against comedians but said it wouldn’t change his work.

The dispute comes amid broader tensions between the Trump administration and the media. Federal regulators have pressured outlets, Congress cut funding for NPR and PBS, and Trump has pursued lawsuits against ABC, CBS, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr even warned networks after Kimmel’s remarks, saying companies needed to “take action… or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Meanwhile, the late-night landscape itself is shifting, with CBS canceling Stephen Colbert’s show earlier this summer. Kimmel’s current contract with Disney, ABC’s parent company, runs through May 2026.