Jimmy Kimmel has some things he wants to say.
After ABC abruptly pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live from its lineup last Wednesday, the late night show returned to the air on Tuesday, with the host making his first statements since his show’s brief suspension.
“As I was saying before I was interrupted,” Kimmel joked. “If you’re just joining us we’re preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report.”
The late night host said he was happy to be there, adding, “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol.”
He then went on to thank his viewers and friends for their support after his show was pulled, including several late night hosts such as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers.
“Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” he said, even playing a clip of Republican politician Ted Cruz, who offered support (after saying that he was also glad Kimmel was “fired”).
Putting jokes aside, Kimmel also spoke about his comments regarding Charlie Kirk, where he said the “MAGA Gang” was trying to characterize Kirk’s killer as anything but “other than one of them.” The comments drew the initial backlash from the FCC—and subsequently from local TV giants Nexstar and Sinclair.
“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, like me, if you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is—you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said, getting emotional and noting that it was never his intention to blame any one group for the actions of Kirk’s killer.
Kimmel also hit back at the FCC and its chairman, Brendan Carr, for the apparent pressure on local affiliates to preempt his show.
“I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East, who told me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power, and worse than being thrown in prison. They know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country, and that’s 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. That’s not American. That is un-American, and it is so dangerous,” Kimmel said.
ABC removed the show last week following backlash from the FCC and local affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair. Notably, Nexstar is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion deal for rival Tegna.
See Kimmel’s full monologue below, which includes a cameo by Robert De Niro as the new FCC chairman and an emotional moment with Kimmel’s sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez:
