In the words of Late Show host Stephen Colbert, “The late-nightmare is finally over” as Jimmy Kimmel returned to the El Capitan theatre for a very special episode a week after after getting cancelled by ABC over an alleged ‘ill-timed’ comment about the murder of Charlie Kirk. The suspension led to a nationwide debate over free speech and the bullying tactics of the Donald Trump administration.
The host was extremely gracious for the love and support he received while his show sat on the shelves and name-dropped an entire party list of people who reached out to him during this time.
Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue
The opening monologue of this episode was preceded by a montage consisting of news channels talking about the return and the anticipation that the fans felt about the monologue itself. Kimmel then walked out in front of the live studio audience, who gave him a big round of applause before he could get any words in. When they finally stopped, he said, “As I was saying before I was interrupted, if you’re just joining us, we are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report. I am happy to be here tonight with you. I have heard from a lot of people over the last six days; actually, I have heard from all the people in the world over the last six days. Everyone who I have ever met, weird characters from my past, and even the guy who fired me from my first radio job reached out multiple times. That job was in Seattle, by the way, where we are not airing tonight; sorry, Seattle.”
Jimmy Kimmel on Charlie Kirk’s death
Addressing the murder of Charlie Kirk, an emotional Kimmel said, “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. I meant it and I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a a specific individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make.” Reacting to claims that he pointed fingers towards Trump’s MAGA camp, the host said, “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, it felt either ill-timed or unclear.” He then added that he thought that the person who killed Kirk does not represent anyone. “Violence is a solution, and it isn’t ever,” he said.
Jimmy Kimmel’s shout-out to fellow late night hosts
He continued his vote of thanks and said, “I want to thank everyone who checked in, but some people I do especially want to mention: my fellow late-night hosts. My friend Stephen Colbert has found himself in this predicament. My friends are Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Conan O’Brien, and James Corden. I even heard from late-night hosts in Ireland and Germany, and a guy from the latter country offered me a job. Imagine, this country has become so authoritarian that the Germans are calling us over there. My boyhood idols Howard Stern and David Letterman were very considerate and kind. I feel honoured to be part of this group of people who know what goes into making a show like this.”
He also thanked the people who did not agree with him and did not like his opinions but still supported his right to share those beliefs anyway. This list included names like Ted Cruz, Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis and more. Kimmel thanked the audience and the fans for their unwavering love and said, “I want to thank you (fans) who supported this show, did something about it and made their voices heard so mine could be heard as well.
Jimmy Kimmel’s show boycotted in parts of the US
Even though Kimmel thanked his fans and audience, it seems that the show is still not available for everyone to watch. Media groups Nextar and Sinclair have chosen to not air the show on channels owned and operated by them. This includes several channels across major states such as Texas, Ohio, DC, California, New York, Indiana and more. Fans even talked about this in the comment section of the video posted by Kimmel on his YouTube channel. One fan wrote, “Thank you for posting this so soon for those of us in ‘blackout’ markets,” while another wrote, “Thank you for posting so quickly. I hate that my local station is blocking it! I will not stop watching no matter what!”
