Less than a week after his “indefinite” suspension, Late Night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has been reinstated and will resume his show Tuesday night.
There has been no response from Nextstar or Sinclair on whether or not they will continue the suspension or agree to air the shows.
After Kimmel was suspended for allegedly making derogatory remarks against recently slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk there was a great deal of backlash from Hollywood and the general public including protests and a an open letter signed by over 400 people; many from the stage and screen.
“This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression,” Seth Meyers, host of NBC’s Late Night, said last week. “There’s a reason free speech is in the very first amendment. It stands above all others.”
“I think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying we’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t, and we’re going to threaten to take you off air if we don’t like what you’re saying,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz said on his podcast on Friday.
After the announcement of the suspension, a post on the social media site Truth Social announced that it was, “great news for America;” adding that other talk show hosts should also be fired.
Disney issued a statement saying, “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. 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.”
During his monologue Kimmel said, “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Shortly after his remarks ABC affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair announced that they were pulling Kimmel’s show from the air.
Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr has issued a warning over remarks made by Kimmel saying, “we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
After denying that he had threatened to revoke any broadcast licenses, Carr added, “Jimmy Kimmel is in the situation he’s in because of his ratings. Not because of anything that’s happened at the federal government level,” Carr said at the Concordia Annual Summit.
Turning Point USA – the organization Charlie Kirk founded – issued a statement after the announcement of a reinstatement saying, “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make. Nexstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.”
Kimmel was just the latest of recent threats from the White House administration that include lawsuits, pressure and defunding of organizations. The White House has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The suit against the Times has since been thrown out of court.
The seven time Emmy Award winner has hosted his late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since 2003. He has also hosted a number of award shows.