What to know about Jimmy Kimmel's return to his late-night TV show

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NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel returned to his late-night show on Tuesday, just under a week after ABC pulled the host off the air indefinitely in the wake of criticism over his comments related the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month.

Kimmel was emotional during his opening monologue, nearly breaking down at least twice when he told his audience “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man." He added that he also didn't intend to “blame any specific group” for the actions of Kirk's alleged killer — but understand that, to some, "that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both.”

Kimmel’s comments that led to his suspension did not extensively focus on Kirk, who was a close ally of President Donald Trump. But he took aim at Trump and what Kimmel called his “MAGA Gang” of supporters for their response to the Sept. 10 killing.

On Tuesday night, Kimmel did not apologize for those remarks. The comedian used humor and a series of pointed messages to thank his supporters and talk about the importance of free speech. He particularly decried threats made by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr last week, which Kimmel said were a “direct violation” of the First Amendment — and also called the government's efforts to “coerce” broadcast affiliates to take his show off the air “un-American" and dangerous.

Two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, still have not carried Kimmel’s return on their stations, which represent about 25% of all affiliates. They had stopped airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in reaction to Kimmel’s comments related to Kirk last week, and maintain they will continue to preempt the show.

Here’s what we know:

On the day of Kirk's killing, Kimmel took to social media to note that it was “horrible and monstrous to shoot another human” and said he was sending support to the Kirk family and other victims of gun violence. During his show the following night, he also called Kirk’s death a “senseless murder,” and he condemned those who appeared to celebrate it — as well as Trump for trying to cast blame on the “radical left.”

He elaborated on the aftermath of Kirk's death the following week, targeting the response from both Trump and the president’s supporters, whom he accused of “working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”

The comic focused particularly on the man accused of the killing, Tyler Robinson.

“The MAGA Gang (is) 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 Sept. 15 monologue. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

Kimmel said Trump’s response was "how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.” He also said FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the killing “like a kid who didn’t read the book, BSing his way through an oral report.” And on Sept. 16, Kimmel mocked Vice President JD Vance’s performance as guest host for Kirk’s podcast.

On Sept. 17, ABC said it would be indefinitely suspending “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” without immediately providing direct reasoning. But the move came after ominous comments from Carr, the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission — as well as moves from both Nexstar and Sinclair to no longer air the show.

On Monday, The Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, offered more of an explanation: “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.”

Disney added that it decided to return the show after “having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy."

Before ABC announced the suspension, Carr called Kimmel's comments “truly sick” and accused Kimmel of appearing to “directly mislead the American public” with his remarks about Robinson. He warned that the network and its local affiliates could face repercussions if Kimmel was not punished.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said last week, later applauding Nexstar and Sinclair for preempting the show. On Monday, he denied that he threatened to revoke ABC’s local station licenses over Kimmel’s remarks.

Kimmel’s suspension came alongside wider efforts by Trump and other conservatives to police speech after Kirk’s killing. Beyond late night, that's impacted anyone from teachers to journalists — including firings over comments some right-wing influencers have viewed as offensive, or even critical of Kirk's polarizing legacy.

It also marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to influence the U.S. media landscape.

In a post on his Truth Social platform after Kimmel's suspension, Trump applauded ABC for “finally having the courage to do what had to be done” and claimed that Kimmel “has ZERO talent” — focusing on what he said were bad ratings. He also took aim at other names in late-night TV, including Stephen Colbert, whose “Late Show” was canceled by CBS over the summer.

Shortly before Kimmel's show aired Tuesday, Trump posted his first reaction to the host's return on Truth Social. “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back," he said, adding that the network was “in jeopardy” from "playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.” He threatened a lawsuit.

In his return Tuesday night, Kimmel lambasted Trump for “celebrat(ing) Americans losing their livelihoods” over speech he doesn't like. He also mocked the president for criticizing his show of bad ratings.

“He tried his best to cancel me and instead he forced millions of people to watch this show,” Kimmel said.

Former President Barack Obama wrote on social media Thursday that the current administration had reached a “new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.” He added that media companies needed to stand up to the “government coercion” rather than capitulate to it.

Others also expressed shock and concern over what the move meant for free speech. Late-night hosts Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Colbert all expressed solidarity with Kimmel during their shows last week. And hundreds of additional entertainment luminaries — including Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Aniston — signed a letter circulated by the American Civil Liberties Union that called ABC’s move “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”

In contrast, figures like former Fox News and NBC personality Megyn Kelly, who also guest hosted Kirk's podcast last week, maintained that Kimmel’s suggestion that Kirk’s killer may have been a Trump supporter was a “vile, disgusting lie.” And following the return of Kimmel's show, Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said that the late night host's monologue was “not good enough” and that he needed to apologize.

Meanwhile, consumers in support of Kimmel moved to punish ABC parent Disney with their wallets over the last week, canceling subscriptions to its streaming services.

And in response to Nexstar and Sinclair continuing to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from their ABC affilate stations, a handful of protests have emerged across the U.S. — including demonstrators in front of Nexstar and Sinclair-owned stations in cities like Columbus, Ohio and Seattle on Tuesday, ahead of ABC returning Kimmel’s show nationally. A protest also formed near Nexstar’s headquarters in Texas.

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AP Media Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.