WASHINGTON — Jimmy Kimmel will be reinstated on late-night television following a “suspension” by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to ABC.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken off air last week following statements the host made regarding the death of political podcaster Charlie Kirk.
In his monologue during his Sept. 15 show, Kimmel said the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them” and of trying to “score political points from it.”
Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC, said Kimmel was “appearing to directly mislead the American public.”
His show was pulled from air, effective immediately.
As of now, Nexstar and Sinclair, who air ABC programming, have not provided an update on whether they would continue airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their stations.
As the chair of the FCC, Carr answers to President Donald Trump, who has gone on record several times sharing his dislike of Kimmel and his brand of comedy.
The president took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and called the show’s removal “great news for America” while calling on other late night hosts to be fired.
The initial announcement said the show would be “pre-empted indefinitely.” However, ABC announced on Monday that the show would be back after what it calls a “suspension.”
ABC, and its parent company Disney, faced major backlash and boycotts, with those against the move saying Disney was infringing on First Amendment free speech.
“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,” said a statement from the network.
Kimmel has hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC since 2003 and has been a fixture in television and comedy for even longer. He is also well known as a presenter, having hosted the Academy Awards four times, according to the Associated Press.
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