Following a week in which it was falsely reported that his show had been cancelled, and the future of his show was seriously in question, Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, returned to the air on Tuesday night. Kimmel came out in his studio to a standing ovation and chants of “Jimmy.”
The chairman of the FCC had admitted, in an interview, that he was leaning on affiliates to force Kimmel off the air, following an intemperate comment about Charlie Kirk. Kimmel’s show was pulled “indefinitely” last week, but ABC and Disney announced Monday that Kimmel would return on Tuesday night. However, stations owned by Nextar and Sinclair did not air Kimmel’s show on Tuesday night.
“I’m not sure who had a stranger 48 hours- me, or the CEO of Tylenol,” Kimmel said in his monologue.
Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air: “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol.” pic.twitter.com/YmQclY0dIQ
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 24, 2025
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Kimmel went on to thank his supporters, including other late-night hosts, as well as even some specific people on the political right, like Ben Shapiro and Sen. Ted Cruz, who had defended his right not to have the government push him off the air. He also showed an old tweet from Carr himself, as well as a video clip of Trump, talking about the importance of free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel was emotional while speaking on his short suspension pic.twitter.com/hx1EX3APZV
— Klutch (@RareKlutch) September 24, 2025
Kimmel also replied to a clip of Trump declaring Kimmel “had no ratings” with… “I do tonight.” Kimmel later joked that “he might have to release the Epstein files to distract from this.”
The full 28-minute monologue was posted to YouTube:
Not long before Kimmel’s return to the air, the president posted to Truth Social, in which he claimed that he had been told Kimmel was permanently fired, once again took a shot at Kimmel’s ratings, and even hinted that he would sue ABC:
“Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” the post said. “He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
