Jimmy Kimmel will return to the airwaves on Tuesday.
Disney announced Monday that Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which ABC had suspended “indefinitely” due to comments Kimmel made about the murder of Charlie Kirk, would return to the air 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,” said a statement from the Walt Disney Company. “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.”
The decision comes after outcry from the Hollywood community, including a public letter sent to ABC that was coordinated by the ACLU and signed by more than 400 actors and creatives such as Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Selena Gomez. Other creators, like Damon Lindelof, spoke out against Disney on social media, and many encouraged fans to cancel their subscriptions to Disney’s streaming services.
The saga began last Monday, when Kimmel made comments about the MAGA response to Kirk’s killing. On Wednesday, FCC chair and Trump appointee Brendan Carr threatened Kimmel and ABC while on a right-wing podcast, stating, “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Soon after, Nexstar Media Group announced that it would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future. That evening, ABC announced the suspension of Kimmel’s show.
The outcry was swift and immediate, with many in Hollywood speaking out about the importance of free speech and the implications of this decision. “I question the sanity of anyone who does not believe this is a five-alarm fire,” former Late Show and Last Week Tonight writer Greg Iwinski told VF.
Kimmel himself has not spoken out about the saga of the past week. Thankfully, he’ll get do so Tuesday—back on his own show.
