Jimmy Kimmel’s return to his late night show drew big ratings following his suspension, despite ABC network affiliates refusing to air the episode.
Returning to his show on Tuesday (September 23), Kimmel addressed his comments regarding the shooting of Charlie Kirk, saying he never intended to “make light” of the murder, but stopping short of apologising for them. He also directed criticism at President Donald Trump, whom he claimed “wants to see me and hundreds of people who work here fired.”
According to The New York Times, Tuesday’s episode drew 6.2million viewers, nearly four times the usual audience, as measured by ratings analysts Nielsen. This contradicts Trump’s assertion that the show is “failing” in the ratings, and the figure is notable given 20 per cent of ABC’s network affiliates refused to show the episode.
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which has run since 2003, on September 17 after comments the comedian made on the show following the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was shot in the neck and killed at Utah Valley University’s campus on September 10, and, following the incident, Kimmel suggested that the signs pointed to Kirk’s shooter being a Trump supporter.
The comments drew criticism from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), with the chair of the organisation Brendan Carr (via BBC) describing it as “the sickest conduct possible.”
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The fallout saw the ABC Network, owned by Disney, take the show off-air indefinitely, a move that proved divisive, with Trump being among those to celebrate the news. In contrast, most of Hollywood’s labour unions reacted with anger, while the likes of David Letterman, Olivia Rodrigo and Pedro Pascal also spoke out against the perceived censorship.
Following the outcry, ABC announced on September 22 that the show would be returning.
An hour before the show aired, Trump took to Truth Social to criticise the return. “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” he wrote. “The White House was told by ABC that his show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.”
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