Jimmy Kimmel’s show set to return on Tuesday
CNN
By Elizabeth Wagmeister, Brian Stelter, CNN
(CNN) — “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to air on ABC on Tuesday night, the network announced in a statement.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” a spokesperson for the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, said in a statement to CNN. “It is a decision we made because we 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.”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was abruptly and indefinitely taken off the air last week after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr and networks of affiliate stations owned by Sinclair and Nexstar threatened ABC over comments Kimmel made in a monologue about the MAGA movement’s response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The move sparked a national debate about government interference and freedom speech between supporters of President Donald Trump’s administration and Kimmel, who have been vocally critically of each other over the years.
Before news of his pending return on Monday, more than 400 artists, including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Aniston, signed an open letter, organized by the ACLU, in support of Kimmel.
There were organized protests against Disney outside of the company’s offices in New York and Burbank, California over the past week, as well as outside the theater where Kimmel’s show is recorded in Hollywood.
Media analysts have watched as Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden have navigated competing pressures. Disney needs government approval for pending deals like ESPN’s pact with the NFL, while many of its station partners are in the same boat. Additionally, Kimmel’s contract is expiring in May and late-night TV audiences and revenue have been on decline.
Still, Kimmel’s sudden suspension sent shock waves through the entertainment industry, where the comedian and long-time host is well-regarded, both inside and outside ABC.
His show employs between 200 and 250 people.
PEN America, one of the many free expression groups that criticized Disney for seemingly caving to the Trump administration, called Kimmel’s return “a vindication for free speech.”
The ABC announcement is both “remedying his unjustifiable suspension, and reminding us that when people speak out to hold the powerful to account – it matters,” PEN America interim co-CEO Summer Lopez said. “We must all channel the same energy to fight the many assaults on free speech underway, including against those with less reach and resources.”
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet is keeping the pressure on ABC affiliate station owners: “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make. Nextstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.”
Kimmel has not yet publicly commented on the controversy, but presumably will on his show Tuesday night.
CNN has reached out to representatives of the late-night host, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar for comment.
Carr did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Carr’s FCC colleague Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democrat on the commission, said in a statement, “I am glad to see Disney find its courage in the face of clear government intimidation. More importantly, I want to thank those Americans from across the ideological spectrum who spoke loudly and courageously against this blatant attempt to silence free speech.”
“It will continue to be up to us as citizens to push back against this Administration’s growing campaign of censorship and control,” Gomez said.
The-CNN-Wire
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