Jimmy Kimmel is going back on the air. ABC owner Disney today issued a statement saying that Jimmy Kimmel Live will 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,” Disney said in a statement today. “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.”
Disney suspended the show after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened the company with license revocations for broadcast stations affiliated with ABC. After caving to the FCC, Disney faced a public backlash, and many users said they were protesting by canceling subscriptions to Disney-owned services.
The Kimmel controversy was about a monologue in which he said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”
Conservatives accused Kimmel of misleading the public about Kirk’s murderer. Carr suggested the FCC could use its news distortion policy to punish Disney, saying, “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney.”
