Popular show host Jimmy Kimmel is returning to his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! days after being "pre-empted indefinitely" over his monologue that criticised Republicans who politicised Charlie Kirk's shooting. Disney announced the news after facing severe backlash over the move that brought back the debate on free speech and censorship during Trump's governance.
On Monday, Disney, which owns ABC Network, said that they made the decision to suspend the show as Kimmel's comments were "ill-timed and insensitive" and were done to "avoid further inflaming a tense situation".
"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," they added.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden and Kimmel were reportedly in talks over the weekend to discuss the issue, following which a consensus was reached to reinstate Kimmel back.
The move comes days after severe outrage over the issue by celebrities, fans and social media users who went to the extent of cancelling their Disney subscriptions to revolt against the decision. Several reports also emerged that the company lost nearly $4 billion due to the decision.
Despite Disney's decision to bring back Kimmel, Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of ABC stations in the US, said it would not air the show on its 38 ABC affiliate stations.
Following the recent shooting of right-wing activist and close Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk, Kimmel in his show said, "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it." He also called out the government for flying flags in half mast following his death and mocked the president's reaction to the shooting, comparing it to "a four-year-old mourning a goldfish".
Prior to Disney's move of removing Kimmel, Nextstar media, one of the country’s largest local TV station owners announced it would stop airing the show, with Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division stating that Kimmel's comments were "offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse."
Reacting to ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live, US President Donald Trump celebrated it as a "great news for America". He said "Kimmel had zero talent" and "worse ratings than even Stephen Colbert".
Jimmy Kimmel has not publicly reacted to the news of his suspension or reinstation and is likely to address them in his show on Tuesday when he returns. Kimmel has been on air since 2003 hosting his Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. He had presented multiple shows on ABC including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, for which he recently won an Emmy. He had also presented the Oscars.