Jimmy Kimmel show to return after being taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who was taken off the air following a row over comments about Charlie Kirk, will return on Tuesday.

The US presenter, who was accused of being "offensive and insensitive" because of what he said on his programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live, on Monday last week, will go back on air in his regular slot on the ABC network.

Disney, which owns ABC, said 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.

"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."

But Jimmy Kimmel Live will not return to Sinclair and NexStar, two major network operators which are in control of about 20% of ABC affiliates combined.

Both had pulled Mr Kimmel's show from their channels over the comments.

Sinclair, which owns 38 ABC affiliates, said it would not run the show on its stations and replace it with news programming.

"Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show's potential return," the company said in a statement.

NexStar, which operates more than 20 ABC affiliates, also said it will not resume airing the programme but will "monitor the show as it returns to ABC.

Prior to Disney's statement on Monday, hundreds of Hollywood stars signed an open letter to defend free speech following Kimmel's suspension.

Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep were among those who have penned the appeal.

'Our voices should never be silenced'

More than 430 of the stars, including comedians, directors and writers, urged Americans to "fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights".

The letter was addressed to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and argued the decision was a "dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation".

The letter added: "Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country.

"We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power - because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us."

The list of signatures also included Emmy-winner Noah Wyle, Oscar-nominated Florence Pugh, comedian David Cross, Tony-winner Kelli O'Hara and Molly Ringwald.

Pedro Pascal, Billy Crystal, Nathan Lane, Kerry Washington and Kevin Bacon have also signed the letter.

Why was Kimmel taken off air?

Kimmel had used his show to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on conservative influencer Charlie Kirk's assassination.

The TV presenter said: "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

Speaking about Mr Trump, he added: "This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish."

"Many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk," he continued.

ABC pulled the show following criticism from Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Mr Carr had threatened to "take action" against Disney and ABC.

In an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, he said: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way".

Mr Carr then praised the move, saying "it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values".

But the decision sparked a global, furious backlash from the public and high-profile figures around the world.

Obama leads backlash

Among them was former US president Barack Obama, who said on X: "After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like."

He added: "This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent - and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it."

The decision came at a time Disney and Nexstar, the network operator, had FCC business ahead of them, with the former seeking regulatory approval for ESPN's acquisition of the NFL Network and the latter needing the Trump administration's approval to complete a $6.2bn (£4.6bn) purchase of broadcast rival, Tegna.

Mr Trump, who was on a state visit to the UK at the time, said Kimmel had been cut for "bad ratings".

He had said: "Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings, more than anything else.

"And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk."

(c) Sky News 2025: Jimmy Kimmel show to return after being taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments