Everything Jimmy Kimmel Has Said About Being Taken Off the Air and Return

Jimmy Kimmel made his late-night return on September 23, 2025, after serving a weeklong suspension that sparked a public debate on free speech.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host was pulled off the air “indefinitely” by ABC on September 17 for comments he made about the suspect in the shooting death of conservative political pundit Charlie Kirk. ABC made the controversial decision to bench the comedian because TV station operators Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group refused to air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their local affiliates.

Hollywood rallied around Kimmel, with over 400 entertainers — including Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Meryl Streep and Selena Gomez — signing an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) demanding the host be reinstated. ABC relented and confirmed that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return on September 23.

Despite Nexstar and Sinclair continuing to preempt the show, Kimmel’s return monologue broke a YouTube record with 14 million views in 15 hours and the episode tripled his regular viewership figures on ABC.

Keep scrolling for a look back at what Kimmel has said about his suspension.

September 15, 2025

The controversy started when Kimmel addressed political activist Kirk’s death at age 31. Kirk died at a Utah hospital after being shot during a speech at Utah Valley University on September 10.

Kimmel’s initial response to the shooting was a plea for politicians to stop “finger-pointing” over Kirk’s death.

“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he asked via Instagram on September 10. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”

During his monologue on September 15, Kimmel addressed the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson in connection with Kirk’s shooting. (Robinson has not yet entered a plea, but has been charged with a capital offense, aggravated murder, and felony discharge of a firearm, plus multiple lesser counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. He will remain in custody without bail at Utah County Jail at least until a waiver hearing takes place on September 29.)

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” Kimmel told viewers.

In response to his comments, leading conservatives called for Kimmel to be fired. Sinclair and Nexstar — two of the country’s largest TV station operators — announced that they would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with ABC following suit on September 17 by formally suspending the host “indefinitely.”

September 23, 2025

Kimmel remained tight-lipped throughout his suspension, only breaking his silence once ABC greenlit his comeback. Hours before his late-night return, Kimmel shared a photo of himself with TV producer Norman Lear alongside the caption: “Missing this guy today.”

Lear — who died at age 101 in December 2023 — was a free speech advocate who pushed boundaries on tackling taboo subject matter like racism and abortion with his classic sitcoms All in the Family and Maude in the 1970s.

Kimmel reflected on the public outcry over his temporary ouster during a 28-minute opening monologue later that night.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people in the last six days,” he told viewers. “Everyone I have ever known has reached out 10 or 11 times. Characters from my past, the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle — where we are not airing tonight, by the way — his name is Larry.”

He later directly thanked viewers: “You supported our show, cared enough to do something about it to make your voices heard so that mine could be heard and I will never forget it.”

Kimmel admitted that he “never imagined” he’d end up on the same side as conservatives Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens, who opposed his suspension.

“It takes courage to speak out against this administration and they did and they deserve credit for it and thanks,” he explained. “For telling their followers that our government cannot control what we do and do not say on TV.”

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host held back tears as he clarified his initial comments that kicked off the scandal on September 15.

“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,” he said. “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 made mention of a “very beautiful moment” from Kirk’s memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21, where the slain activist’s widow, Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), publicly forgave her husband’s killer.

“There was a moment over the weekend, a very beautiful moment, I don’t know if you saw this … Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him,” Kimmel said. “That is an example we should follow.”

September 24, 2025

In the wake of Kimmel’s return, President Donald Trump slammed ABC for reversing course on the host’s suspension. He threatened to “test ABC out” with a lawsuit for political bias and predicted Kimmel would “rot in his bad Ratings” on his Truth Social account.

Riding high off the news that his Jimmy Kimmel Live! return tripled the show’s regular viewership figures, the comedian joked about hearing from “one very special friend moments after we taped our show,” before replaying Trump’s comments.

“You can’t believe they gave me my job back? I can’t believe we gave you your job back,” Kimmel joked.

Later in the monologue, Kimmel made light of Trump’s approval ratings after the president dinged Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s ratings on ABC.

“He does know bad ratings,” Kimmel said of Trump. “He has some of the worst ratings any president has ever had. On behalf of all of us, welcome to the crappy ratings club, Mr. President.”

Kimmel then delivered a poignant explanation to “those who think I go too hard” on President Trump and his allies.

“I want to explain: I talk about Trump more than anything because he’s a bully. I don’t like bullies,” he insisted. “Donald Trump is an old-fashioned ‘80s movie-style bully taking your lunch money. And if you give it to him once, he’ll take it again. Two things he loves: lunch and money.”

September 25, 2025

Kimmel was joined by guest Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who brought along her family’s 3-week-old puppy, Ethel. The former Veep star joked that Ethel was “a big fan of the First Amendment” during their segment.

“I think it’s been so crazy this past week that to be with a puppy might do you some good,” she quipped.

Kimmel added, “A lot of dogs nowadays really love free speech!”

Earlier in the show, Kimmel had a request for his studio audience as they greeted him with chants of “Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy!” during his entrance.

“Can we not do that every night, now?” Kimmel asked. “I mean, I appreciate it, but I also hate it. I really do!”

Kimmel made light of the fact that he was still only “broadcasting to about 75 percent of the country” due to Sinclair and Nexstar’s boycotts.

“On Monday, we will be in Brooklyn for a week of big shows from the Brooklyn Academy of Music,” he announced. “What we have to do now is stay on the move so the FCC can’t get us.”