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Two major TV station owners said they won’t air Kimmel’s show on Tuesday, his first on-screen appearance in nearly a week.
WASHINGTON — Jimmy Kimmel will return to late-night TV Tuesday, after a network-forced hiatus last week when ABC suspended the show indefinitely.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was suspended Wednesday following comments Kimmel made about the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. Earlier this week, Disney-owned ABC reversed course, saying the show would be back on the air on Sept. 23.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” Disney said in a statement. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Why was Jimmy Kimmel taken off the air?
The comments at the heart of the issue, which aired during the Monday episode of the show, were made during Kimmel’s opening monologue. Kimmel discussed the potential motives for the assassin and asserted that the suspected killer was aligned with the MAGA movement.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in his monologue.
Authorities have not publicly released what they believe was the motive behind suspected gunman Tyler Robinson’s fatal attack. Although conflicting information about how politically engaged Robinson was has emerged, investigators say family members described him as becoming more political in recent years.
Several prominent companies in local television, Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar, announced they would preempt Kimmel’s show because of his comments. Sinclair and Nexstar are both companies that own and operate local television stations across the country, and own dozens of ABC stations between them.
Nexstar, which owns more than 30 ABC affiliates, is seeking regulatory approval for a deal to acquire TEGNA, the parent company of this station.
When will Jimmy Kimmel return?
Kimmel’s show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is set to air on ABC in its usual timeslot, which is at 11:35 p.m. Eastern. The show is also available to stream live on Hulu.
According to CNN, his show employs around 200 people for its 5-days-a-week production.
It’s unclear if Disney or ABC will be making any changes to the show’s format or airtime in the future.
Some stations say they won’t air Kimmel
Nexstar and Sinclair both confirmed ahead of Kimmel’s return that they would continue to preempt him.
Sinclair said Monday that it would not air Kimmel’s show Tuesday and would broadcast news programming instead. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the company said. There was no immediate comment from Nexstar on its plans for Kimmel’s return.
According to a statement released Tuesday to NBC and other outlets, Nexstar will follow a similar path.
“We made a decision last week to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve,” Nexstar said in the Tuesday statement.
Will Jimmy Kimmel address the comments that got him suspended?
It’s unclear exactly what Kimmel will say during his opening monologue after being off the air for six days. In the time since, details have emerged about Kirk’s shooting, and many viewers have become divided on the decision to cut Kimmel’s show from ABC’s lineup.
Reporting from last week indicated he planned to discuss his comments and their backlash on Wednesday’s show, which was canceled when the suspension was announced.
Hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars — including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep — urged Americans “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights” in the wake of Kimmel’s suspension.
More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that argued it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
President Donald Trump and his supporters praised ABC’s decision, while others called it a suppression of free speech and encouraged consumers to boycott Disney, which owns ABC.
The suspension also happened at a time when the late night landscape is shifting. CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show over the summer
Who are the guests for Tuesday on Jimmy Kimmel’s show?
Details about Tuesday’s show haven’t been released, so it’s unknown who will appear on the show. The show’s site doesn’t list guests past Thursday, Sept. 18.
