On September 23, Jimmy Kimmel resumed hosting duties on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after ABC suspended the show six days earlier. The September 17 pre-emption followed sharp criticism from right-wing commentators over Kimmel’s remarks about the suspect in the killing of conservative figure Charlie Kirk. During his opening, Jimmy Kimmel expressed gratitude toward his audience, his peers across late-night television, his allies, and even those who opposed him.

Hollywood quickly reacted. Stephen Colbert shared his support on Instagram with the message, “Welcome back, brother!” posted under a photo of Kimmel on set. Jennifer Aniston reposted an image of the host backstage with a heart emoji, and Ben Stiller added his name to the list of celebrities welcoming Jimmy Kimmel back.

Late-night hosts Fallon and Colbert acknowledged Jimmy Kimmel’s return

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As reported by Us Weekly, Jimmy Kimmel was welcomed back to late-night television on Tuesday, September 23, with warm words and a few playful jokes from his fellow hosts. The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert both acknowledged Kimmel’s return during their opening monologues. Fallon, who has often poked fun at sharing the same first name as Kimmel, joked:

“If you’re tuning in to see what I’ll say about my suspension the last couple of days, again, you’re watching the wrong Jimmy. Dad! The other Jimmy, Dad.”

He reminded viewers that his father confused him with the Kimmel situation, even texting apologies when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 17. Colbert also played along. Addressing his audience, he quipped,

“I’m so grateful to have this show… who I think might just be my wife, Evie, because everybody else is probably watching ABC ’cause tonight Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves.”

Colbert closed his remarks with praise:

“I’m glad Kimmel’s back. He’s a wonderful fella. To know him well is to admire him immensely, even if he takes the whole summer off.”

Jimmy Kimmel came back to ABC as Disney reversed the indefinite suspension:

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The controversy surrounding Kimmel reached a turning point last week when ABC placed his show on indefinite suspension. The decision followed remarks Kimmel made about Tyler Robinson, who had been arrested and charged in the killing of Charlie Kirk on September 10. In his commentary, Kimmel said,

“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.”

The statement drew sharp criticism from FCC chairman Brendan Carr, and pressure mounted when Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group declared they would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their ABC affiliates. On September 22, The Walt Disney Company, ABC’s parent organization, issued a statement confirming Kimmel’s reinstatement.

“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,” the company said.

Jimmy Kimmel addressed the controversy over the Charlie Kirk comments during his first show back:

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Kimmel stepped back onto his late-night stage on September 23 with humor, emotion, and a message he said he needed to deliver. The return followed six days off the air after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!

But the mood shifted when Kimmel turned to his comments about the death of Charlie Kirk. A bit emotional, he told viewers,

“I’ve been hearing a lot about what I need to do and say tonight and the truth is, I don’t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference. If you like me you like me, if you don’t, I have no illusions of changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human: it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”

He reminded audiences that he had already posted condolences online.