Even though Jimmy Kimmel Live! made its comeback on Tuesday night, Nexstar, the station owner, announced on Wednesday that they would continue to exclude the show from their programming. In a statement, Nexstar mentioned that they are still assessing the status of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their ABC-affiliated local television stations and, during this evaluation phase, the show will not be aired. The statement further highlighted ongoing discussions with executives from The Walt Disney Company to ensure that the show aligns with and respects the diverse interests of their communities.
Both Nexstar, overseeing 32 ABC affiliate stations, and Sinclair, another broadcasting group, have been preempting Jimmy Kimmel’s show since the previous week. These two station owners collectively represent about 25 percent of all affiliates and decided to halt the broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live! following Kimmel’s comments after Charlie Kirk’s death last week.
Kimmel, in his monologue on September 15, criticized the reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death by some individuals, referring to them as the “MAGA gang” for politicizing the tragedy. Subsequently, ABC announced on September 17 that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be indefinitely suspended without providing immediate reasons for the suspension.
After extensive discussions between Kimmel and Disney, the talk show returned to the air on Tuesday night. During his emotional opening monologue, Kimmel expressed regret for any perceived insensitivity and clarified that it was never his intention to trivialize the tragic event. The monologue garnered significant attention, with about 14 million views on YouTube by Wednesday afternoon, approaching his all-time viewership record on the platform.
Former President Barack Obama criticized the current administration for pressuring media companies to censor reporters and commentators, emphasizing the importance of standing up against such coercion. Various celebrities and late-night hosts, including Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and Stephen Colbert, expressed solidarity with Kimmel. In contrast, figures like Megyn Kelly disputed Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killer being a Trump supporter.
Reacting to Kimmel’s reinstatement, Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet demanded a more explicit apology from the late-night host. Furthermore, supporters of Kimmel expressed their displeasure by boycotting Disney’s streaming services. Protests have also emerged outside Nexstar and Sinclair-owned stations in cities like Columbus and Seattle, opposing the continued preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.