
Disney/Randy Holmes
After six days off the air, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is returning on Tuesday.
In a statement obtained by “Extra,” ABC and Disney said on Monday, “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.”
Last week, it was announced that the show was being pulled indefinitely after host Jimmy Kimmel made remarks about responses to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Disney and ABC added, “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.”
Hours before the major announcement, Jimmy’s good friend Howard Stern also spoke out this morning, revealing he had spoken to Kimmel.
Howard shared, “I just asked him how he was doing personally. I just know when the government begins to interfere, when the government says, ‘I’m not pleased with you, so we’re going to orchestrate a way to silence you,’ it’s the wrong direction for our country.”
Earlier today, “The View’s” panel addressed Kimmel’s suspension, too, after remaining silent late last week, with Sunny Hostin telling the audience, “Our founders drafted the First Amendment specifically to protect the rights of citizens to criticize the government. Thomas Jefferson in particular said the citizens must be able to criticize public officials because quote, ‘They will try to impose their own opinions and modes of thinking on others.’ End quote. And the Supreme Court, time and time again, has reinforced its support for the law of the land, the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.”
Following Kimmel’s benching, Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks led a list of 400 Hollywood stars teaming up to protest the indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep & Hundreds of Hollywood Stars Sign Letter Supporting Jimmy Kimmel
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The A-listers signed a letter from the ACLU blasting the network’s decision, calling it “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.
Pedro Pascal, Martin Short, Regina King, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jamie Lee Curtis were just a few of the other celebrities who have also signed the ACLU letter.
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