Kiss the right butts in this town and you're safe.
Maybe Jimmy Kimmel is aligned with an Illuminati cabal -- friends with Oprah, Tom Hanks, and all the producers behind the scenes it wouldn't be impossible -- because someone just talked Sinclair Broadcasting Group into carrying the show on its stations after last week's massive scandal of preempting the show in league with Nexstar and Tegna, Inc.
(Access Hollywood) “South Park” returned Wednesday night [one night after JKL!'s return] and weighed in on Jimmy Kimmel’s nearly weeklong suspension.
In Episode 5 of Season 27, titled “Conflict of Interest,” the animated sitcom targeted Pres. Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr following his comments to a right-wing media figure that appeared to influence ABC’s decision to pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week.
After Kimmel referenced the man who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk (suggesting he was much more likely a MAGA gun nut) during his Sept. 15 monologue, FCC's Carr appeared on conservative activist Benny Johnson’s podcast two days later and said:
“I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action, frankly, on Kimmel or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Now, “South Park” is using Carr’s own words in their latest episode as the FCC chairman lands in the hospital. Carr has since denied he was “threatening” ABC’s licenses, per
Trump threatens Jimmy Kimmel and ABC, escalator fiasco at the UN, and Ethan Hawke interrupts
Meanwhile, Trump welcomes his master Bibi ✡
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) 5,050,661 YouTube views and counting. Sept. 24, 2025: JKL! is back to work again doing his show for most of the country, thank Gosh the 'The Golden Bachelor' has not been pre-empted, Kimmel heard from Do Jo Trump who posted on his Truth Social (Twitter knockoff) with threats moments after the taping of the show Tuesday night, Trump claimed it was the ratings that got Kimmel “fired,” Trump is an old-fashioned 80s movie-style bully, many of its staffers got crazy texts from their loved ones over the last week, there was a fun little conspiracy theory heard on right wing Newsmax today, according to MSNBC the FBI has a recording of Trump’s border czar Tom Homan taking a big bribe in a bag from undercover agents with $50,000 cash in it, Team Trump is worked up about the escalator stopping while the Donald was at the UN yesterday, and Ethan Hawke interrupts the monologue when Jimmy thanks the more than 400 entertainers, actors, writers, directors, and producers who signed the ACLU letter supporting the show.#Kimmel
Right wing Benny Johnson, the new Charlie Kirk, show Epstein ALIVE on his Pedo Island
Before the fracas, Kimmel would get about 1.6 million monologue views. Tuesday's return saw the number of viewers skyrocket, quadrupling even though he has been pre-empted/banned from Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting stations. Those make up about a quarter of viewers. About 6.26 viewers watched live on TV, with many many more going uncounted watching on livestream, social media, and YouTube. The monologue currently has 26 million YouTube views, which is common. His key demographic (ages 19-49) that advertising salespeople love is the best it's been in a decade, according to Conan Nolan at NBC News (NBC4 LA).
Will he shave beard to keep his sky-high ratings?
Kimmel’s return breaks his YouTube record: Most-watched monologue ever
James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, Sept. 24, 2025
Kimmel's emotional and highly anticipated return to ABC very quickly became the most popular 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' monologue on YouTube. Nexstar and Sinclair really missed out. The affiliate groups boycotting Jimmy Kimmel Live! missed airing — and selling ads — on what’s rapidly become Kimmel’s most-watched monologue of all time on YouTube.
Kimmel’s return to ABC on Tuesday night (Sept. 23, 2025, Rapture Day) featured a nearly 30-minute show opening that included the host’s emotional monologue where he thanked those who supported him during his suspension, attempted to clarify his controversial comments about Charlie Kirk and, most of all, passionately defended free speech. More: Hollywood Reporter
(Sky News Australia) Sept. 24, 2025: Media Meltdowns: News host rips into Kimmel’s “pathetic” come back after deliberate Kirk lie [which was actually a joke taking a dig at MAGA gun nuts]. Angry right wing Australian Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power lashes out at Kimmel’s “pathetic” come back and his “crocodile tears.”
Meanwhile, SoCal car truck chase
(ABC) It's different because it's a stolen semi-truck that could lead a Convoy
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back, but New York Times reporter Adam Liptak and former Washington Post editor Martin Baron say the Trump administration is using federal power to control speech and [stifle] the press.
TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Jimmy Kimmel and his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returned to ABC last night after he was suspended indefinitely a week ago. The story of his suspension and return has implications beyond Kimmel, pertaining to conglomerate ownership of broadcast networks and news publications, the First Amendment and freedom of the press, the FCC and Pres. Trump. Here to talk about the larger story are [journalists] Marty Baron and Adam Liptak.
Baron was the editor of The Washington Post from 2013 until his retirement in 2021. During most of his tenure, The Post was owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Baron's memoir about that time is titled Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post. He was previously the editor of The Boston Globe. In the movie Spotlight, a drama based on The Globe's investigation, revealing sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Baron was portrayed by Liev Schreiber.
Adam Liptak covers the courts and legal issues for The New York Times. Before joining the Times' news staff, he practiced law for 14 years, concentrating on First Amendment issues, including in The New York Times Company's corporate legal department. Let's start with a clip from Jimmy Kimmel's monologue last night.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
JIMMY KIMMEL: I've been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do 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, you don't. I have no illusions about changing anyone's mind. But I do want to make something clear because it's important to me as a human, and that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder (CRYING) of a young man. I don't...
(APPLAUSE)
KIMMEL: ...I don't think there's anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion, and I meant it. And I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what -- it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both.
And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset. If the situation was reversed, there's a good chance I'd have felt the same way. I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don't agree on politics at all. I don't think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn't. It - ever. And also selfishly...
(APPLAUSE)
KIMMEL: ...I am a person who gets a lot of threats. I get many ugly and scary threats against my life, my wife, my kids, my coworkers because of what I choose to say. And I know those threats don't come from the kind of people on the right who I know and love. So that's what I wanted to say on that subject. But I don't want to make this about me because - and I know this is what people say when they make things about them.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: But I really don't. This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.
KIMMEL: I've had the opportunity to meet and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East, who tell me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power, and worse than being thrown in prison. They know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country. And that's something I'm embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American. And it is so dangerous.
(CHEERING)
I am the King of the USA!
GROSS: All right, so that was an excerpt of last night's monologue by Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel went on to praise Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, for forgiving her husband's assassin. And he added while tearing up...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!") KIMMEL: There it was. That's it, a selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. (Crying) And it touched me deeply. And I hope it...
(APPLAUSE)
KIMMEL: ...It touches many. And if there's anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, and not this.
GROSS: So, Marty Baron, Adam Liptak, welcome to FRESH AIR. What was your reaction to last night's monologue?
MARTY BARON: Well, it was very moving, very emotional and, I think, very effective. I really think that this could end up being an extraordinarily important moment in the history of the country. And you know, I think back to the 1950s, actually. It recalled for me the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, when Joseph Welch was representing the U.S. Army. He told Senator Joseph McCarthy, have you no decency, sir? And that really proved to be a turning point when the country turned against McCarthy and his incredibly malicious behavior.
So, you know, now we live in a time where - era where performative behavior is rewarded. It's all about spectacle. You know, we have a president who really revels in showmanship. So maybe what we need is a different spectacle in this instance, from an entertainer like Jimmy Kimmel, really, as a counterweight, as a corrective, because the standard forms of argument just aren't as effective as they once were. So I thought it was highly effective and effective in a way that traditional debate hasn't been.
ADAM LIPTAK: I agree with Marty. It was, among other things, a robust defense of free speech in the sense that you don't have to agree with what Jimmy Kimmel was saying, although it's hard to disagree with much of what he said because it was so moving. But what free speech requires is that you hear him out and you consider it, and you don't try to stifle it or censor it. That said, my viewing of this was a little frustrating because I live in Washington, D.C., and I learned last night, as I tried to watch Jimmy Kimmel, that the local ABC affiliate is owned by Sinclair, and they had chosen not to air it. And while it appeared on YouTube soon enough, this is not an unalloyed victory. In much of the country, Kimmel remains unavailable, and this fight is not over.
GROSS: Yeah. I think that between Sinclair and Nexstar, they own about 20% of the ABC affiliates.
BARON: Yeah, I think they...
GROSS: They own 70 stations, and I think it's like 20% of...
Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! returns to ABC after suspension | LIVE outside Kimmel Theater | N18G
Heads will roll at the FCC for this! Disney!
(CNBC-TV18) Started streaming Tuesday, Sept. 23 (day of The Rapture) - HOLLYWOOD, California - We are live outside the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" theater (Masonic Lodge) in Tinsel Town, Los Angeles. Kimmel's late-night talk show is to resume airing tonight. He arrived around 11:00 am to prepare to videotape the program. The comedian's show was suspended after accusing Kirk's shooter of being MAGA [and because Nexstar wants to merge with Tegna, Inc. to gain market share, reaching 80% of households rather than the legally-limited 39% it currently controls, and Sinclair Broadcasting is also involved, dealing with Trump's FCC head Brendan Carr]. Kimmel will return after a massive boycott of Disney and Hulu by the free speech loving American public.
Disney, which owns the US broadcast network that airs Jimmy Kimmel Live, said on Monday that it suspended the show because it "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," Disney said. The comic's abrupt suspension came after threats by the federal TV regulator (FCC's Carr) to revoke ABC's broadcast license, sparking nationwide debates over free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! tapes live from the Hollywood Masonic Temple on Hollywood Blvd. near Grauman's Chinese Theater with a studio audience of people in town to see Hollywood and locals.
On Feb. 21, 2024, Kimmel hinted that he may not renew his contract for further seasons after his current contract expires in May 2026 in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, stating that "I think this is my final contract. I hate to even say it because everyone's laughing at me now — each time I think that, and then it turns out to be not the case. I still have a little more than two years left on my contract, and that seems pretty good, that seems like enough" [23][24].
On Sept. 17, 2025, during an interview on right wing Benny Johnson's podcast, Trump's FCC chair Brendan Carr warned that action could be taken against ABC for humorous remarks by Kimmel during the monologue of the previous night's episode, in which he stated that the "MAGA gang" was "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" [25].
FCC Chair Carr called Kimmel's comments "truly sick” and said his agency "has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC, and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation," arguing that Kimmel "appeared to be making an intentional effort to mislead the public that Kirk’s assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter" [26] [which would make it disinformation if that were the case].
MAGA, Kirk comments as pretext
Hail Fearless Leader Commander-in-Chief Trunf! All hail! Round up those who didn't hail.
. Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group both announced after the warning that they would pre-empt the show [show something else in its place] from their ABC affiliate stations indefinitely allegedly in response to Kimmel's [unforgiveable and "truly sick"] comments [27][28][29] [which most people did not think were that bad or too far from the mark].
Trump cares so much about Kirk that he sent AI
Shortly afterward, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be suspended indefinitely [25][30]. Nexstar stated that its original decision was made unilaterally and was not influenced by any correspondence with the FCC or other agencies.
However, it was pointed out that Nexstar has been seeking FCC approval for the acquisition of fellow television broadcaster Tegna, Inc. [31][32].
Deadline reported that Kimmel had refused to apologize but had planned to clarify his comments and specifically call out Trump supporters on that night's episode, and that ABC "hope[d] that it will be able to have Kimmel back on the air 'soon,' per sources, but whether Kimmel himself is willing is also unclear" [33].
Variety described the suspension as coming after "several prominent conservatives have called for any critic of [Kirk's] work to be silenced, no matter how nuanced the argument may be" [34][35].
CNN reported that Disney employees and Kimmel's staff received death threats following Carr's remarks and were doxxed [personally exposed] on social media and that the safety of employees and advertisers was a consideration.
However, Disney said they were reportedly "hopeful" that Kimmel's show will return [36] soon. It returns tonight, Sept. 23, 2025, shortly after massive financial fallout for Disney Corporation, with many Americans cancelling their subscriptions to Disney+ and the corporation's stock tumbling in value to the tune of a $4,000,000,000 loss.
With billions at stake and massive fallout from Hollywood luminaries and ordinary citizens and subscribers to deal with, Disney (which owns ABC) made nice and brought Kimmel right back less than a week after his initial suspension. What will Kimmel do to retaliate?
He didn't pay for our forgiveness, Charlie.
Will he make more jokes or follow the normal course of repeating jokes from the pool all the late-night hosts (Colbert, Meyers, Fallon, etc.) seem to use nowadays but with his own spin.
The past week, the joke everyone has been doing is exaggerated deference to the Orange Fuhrer, Dictator Trump, and the FCC Gestapo. One can only hope for a little apology, rising above the fray, and then digging into Trump on a nightly basis as usual. More
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