Disney announced Monday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be returning on air after an ABC suspension lasting less than a week.
Kimmel’s popular late-night show was indefinitely removed over Kimmel’s comments after Charlie Kirk’s shocking death.
Celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg and Olivia Rodrigo, publicly showcased their distaste for the decision, implying it’s a breach of freedom of speech.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also published a letter online regarding the matter.
“Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after our government threatened a private company with retaliation for Kimmel’s remarks. This is a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation,” the letter began. “This is unconstitutional and un-American. The government is threatening private companies and individuals that the President disagrees with. We can’t let this threat to our freedom of speech go unanswered.”
Others, including President Trump, celebrated the decision. “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial on Wednesday. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
Kimmel remained silent about his removal from ABC.
Disney, which owns ABC, discussed with USA Today why they made the decision to remove Kimmel from their channel.
“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.”
However, Disney soon decided to overturn their decision, with Kimmel’s show being back on air this week.
“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.”
