Jimmy Kimmel will be returning to ABC on Tuesday night, almost one week after Disney made the decision to suspend the show, for what was apparently criticism of Kimmel’s remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“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, which owns ABC, said in a statement Monday. “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 added.
At the intersection of free speech and cancel culture, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr effed around and found out after he threatened to revoke ABC affiliates’ licenses for what he described as “the sickest conduct possible” regarding Kimmel’s comments.
Kimmel’s monologue last week criticized Republicans for their reaction to the killing, “with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he said.
In an open letter released Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 400 celebrities wrote that Disney’s decision represents a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
Among the stars who signed the letter included: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington.
Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul were critical of the FCC moves.
Executive Producer of the Charlie Kirk Show had words: