All eyes were on Jimmy Kimmel — literally — as he returned to late night TV after a brief departure.
Six days after ABC temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel, 57, opened the Tuesday, September 23, episode of his show with a monologue watched by millions of viewers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the segment quickly became the most popular Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue on YouTube ever.
While some of the show’s sketches and guest interview segments have racked up millions of clicks over the years, Tuesday’s 28-minute monologue earned more than 14 million views in 15 hours.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are weighing in on Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late night TV following his talk show’s suspension. “Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show last night, and listen, we know him personally, and when I tell you he’s one of the kindest, most generous people I know,” Consuelos, 54, said at the […]
ABC Entertainment also reported that 6.26 million viewers watched the show, despite significant preemptions across 23 percent of U.S. TV households. According to ABC, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.
“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,” Kimmel said on Tuesday’s show before addressing the topic of free speech. “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.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken off the air days after its host made controversial comments about Charlie Kirk’s death and the subsequent murder investigation.
Nexstar Media, which owns multiple TV stations, told Variety that it “strongly objects” to the TV host’s remarks and would be replacing his show with other programming for the “foreseeable future.”
Jimmy Kimmel Randy Holmes/Disney
Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr also threatened ABC, Disney and Kimmel in response to the comedian’s comments.
After days of discussion with many parties, the Walt Disney Company announced on Monday, September 22, that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would resume taping on Tuesday.
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group, however, released statements revealing their affiliates would continue to preempt the show.
“I shared my point of view [with Walt Disney Company], they shared theirs. We talked it through. And at the end, even though they didn’t have to, they really didn’t have to, this is a giant company, we have short attention spans and I am a tiny part of the Disney corporation, they welcomed me back on the air,” Kimmel said during Tuesday’s monologue. “And I thank them for that, because I know that unfortunately and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk.”
Kimmel’s previous most-watched opening monologue came in May 2017 when he started his show by updating fans on his son’s health. At three days old, Kimmel and wife Molly McNearney’s son had successful open heart surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
On his show, Kimmel opened up about his son’s birth and health complications. He also encouraged donations to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles after doctors and health care workers took care of their family.
