Jimmy Kimmel's Late-night Show to Return as ABC Calls Out Comedian's 'Insensitive' Comments in Blistering Statement
Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air last week.
Sept. 22 2025, Published 4:14 p.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel is coming back to TV, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
The comedian and his self-titled talk show were pulled from the airwaves after he made controversial comments about Charlie Kirk.
The show will return on Tuesday, September 23.
Parent company Disney announced Monday Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to ABC on Tuesday, September 23.
A statement from the network read: "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.
"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."
What Did Kimmel Say To Cause His Suspension?
Kimmel will have been off the air for nearly a week.
Several sources say Kimmel will address his suspension during his show, set to be taped on Tuesday.
The decision to bring him back came from Disney's higher-ups, including CEO Bob Iger and Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment.
Disney's original decision to shelve their star came after two major station owners, Nexstar Media and Sinclair, each announced they would pre-empt his program after Kimmel said Kirk's suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson, was a MAGA Republican, and his comments went viral.
"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 doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said at the time
Affiliate Objections
He is expected to address the controversy when he returns.
Following the comments, Nexstar said its "owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future."
The company added it "strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets."
Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar's broadcasting division, confirmed the move and said: "Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.
"Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."
It's not yet clear if the affiliates will return his show to the airwaves.
FCC Responds
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Calls came from the FCC chair for 'immediate action.'
Kimmel's downfall came swiftly last week, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened "immediate action" against Kimmel, ABC and Disney for "deliberately misleading the public" by claiming Kirk’s alleged assassin was a Trump Conservative.
Carr explained that networks are required to have a license to broadcast granted by the FCC, and that comes with a responsibility to operate in the public interest.
He continued: "When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
