On Monday, it was announced that less than a week after “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was indefinitely suspended by ABC, the network has agreed to bring the show back, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23. Naturally, politicians and celebrities are hopping on social media (and even late night shows) to weigh in on the turn of events.
“It’s always nice to start the show with some good news,” Stephen Colbert began his monologue on “The Late Show” Monday night.
“Well, just a few hours before we taped this broadcast, we got word that our long national late night-mare is over, because Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live will return to air on ABC! Wonderful news for my dear friend Jimmy and his amazing staff. I’m so happy for them, plus, now that Jimmy’s not being canceled, I get to enjoy this again,” he said, grabbing the Emmy award he nabbed this month. “Once more, I am the only martyr in late night, unless CBS—you want to announce anything?”
Last week, Nexstar Media Group Inc. announced it was nixing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its ABC affiliate stations for the “foreseeable future” after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr implied the FCC would take regulatory action in response to Kimmel’s remarks in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
The suspension was met with mixed reviews. While some cheered the swift action against Kimmel, others showed up in large numbers to protest outside the studio where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is broadcast, as well as Disney Studios in Burbank and Disneyland in Anaheim. Others took to social media to announce they were boycotting ABC and canceling their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions. Many public figures voiced their support for Kimmel and his staff, with over 400 actors, musicians and directors signing an open letter with the ACLU calling out the decision to pull Kimmel’s show from the air as a violation of the First Amendment.
After several days of meetings and negotiations with Disney executives, it was announced on Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return on Tuesday.
“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,” a statement from Disney read. “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.”
In response to the news that Kimmel will return to ABC, celebrities, politicians and more took to social media to share their thoughts.
Many denounced the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, citing an imbalance in right versus left cancel culture.
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly wrote, “Must be nice to be a leftist. ‘Cancellation’ lasts 5 nights and you’re right back under klieg lights. On the right you’re underground.” When the show had first been taken off the air, Kelly had commented on social media, “Just think for a minute about the amount of IRATE mail/viewer feedback they must have gotten to do this.”
Actor Rob Schneider posted on X, “I just found out that ABC/Disney is ALSO Bringing back ROSEANNE BARR for HER tv show!! Just kidding! ABC/Disney would NEVER bring back a conservative?! . . . “
And Ann Coulter also added her two cents, posting on X, “ABC execs prove they are NOT cowards by caving in 10 seconds to left-wing pressure.”
On the flipside, Luke Skywalker himself (Mark Hamill) shared an image on BlueSky that Kimmel was back with the caption, “Meltdown on “Truth” Social in 5… 4… 3… 2…”
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres shared the headline from Deadline about Kimmel’s return, noting in her caption that she couldn’t wait to hear Kimmel’s monologue on Tuesday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom quoted a post from Dylan Byers, a Senior Correspondent at Puck, who shared the news. Newsom added his response, “Thank you to everyone but @BrendanCarrFCC. This is a win for free speech everywhere.”
Celebrities who’d appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” also weighed in.
Actor John Stamos shared two images of himself appearing on Kimmel’s show on Instagram, including one when he appeared alongside comedian Don Rickles. “Comedy has always pushed boundaries, but I wonder how someone like Don would navigate the world today – where every word is weighed, replayed, and judged in real time,” wrote Stamos in the caption. “What I do know is that he made people laugh, and laughter is something we could all use a little more of right now.”
Actor Patton Oswalt shared an image of the headline of Kimmel’s return as well as a video of him appearing on the show, riding a horse onto the stage with the caption “Hark! I bring good news!”
Star of the ABC hit “Scandal,” Kerry Washington, posted on Threads, “Jimmy Kimmel LIVEs on!!! Grateful to everyone who spoke UP. Welcome back friend.”
And Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also weighed in, posting, “This is about fighting for free speech and against these abuses by Donald Trump and Brendan Carr.”
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Charlie Kirk, shared on X, “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.”
As of Monday afternoon, Sinclair announced that when “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returns to ABC on Tuesday, they will not be airing it on their affiliate stations. Instead, the broadcaster will use the time slot to air local news. In their original press release on Sept. 17, they stated that the suspension was “not enough,” calling on Kimmel to “issue a direct apology to the Kirk family” and “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.”
The group had previously announced that they would be airing a Charlie Kirk memorial special in Kimmel’s timeslot on Friday, Sept. 19, but their ABC affiliates instead broadcast a rerun of ‘Celebrity Family Feud.’
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