Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images
- Jimmy Kimmel is back at ABC after being suspended over comments about Charlie Kirk.Sinclair and Nexstar still aren't airing Kimmel's show on their ABC affiliate stations.Trump took to Truth Social an hour before the episode aired, slamming ABC and Kimmel.
Jimmy Kimmel is back at ABC, and returned to the late-night stage to tape his Tuesday night show.
The appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is Kimmel's first public response since ABC temporarily suspended production of the show last week.
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to criticize ABC about an hour before the episode aired.
"I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was canceled!" he said.
"Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who's not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE," he added.
Trump wrote in his post that Kimmel was "another arm of the DNC" and said Kimmel's show was, to the best of his knowledge, a "major Illegal Campaign Contribution."
"I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do," Trump said, before referencing a bumper settlement he received from ABC after he sued the network for defamation.
"This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers," he added.
Prior to Tuesday night's show, Kimmel had not publicly addressed the suspension. In an Instagram post on Tuesday morning, Kimmel shared a photo of himself and Norman Lear, the late American screenwriter and producer who was known for championing progressive causes.
"Missing this guy today," Kimmel wrote.
Some fans appeared outside the show's filming location on Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday to express their support for the late-night comedian's return.
Aude Guerrucci/Reuters
Kimmel's suspension last week had become a cultural flash point that many saw as an encroachment on free speech. Hollywood stars, fellow late-night television hosts, and politicians vocally expressed support for Kimmel. Protesters gathered outside Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, and in New York, where another rally took place outside of ABC's offices. Meanwhile, some Disney+ and Hulu subscribers threatened to cancel their subscriptions in protest.
Disney-owned ABC had made the call last week to pull the late-night television star from the air after Kimmel's comments about Charlie Kirk's death and President Donald Trump. His comments had drawn backlash from the Federal Communications Commission's chair, Brendan Carr, and affiliate station owners Nexstar and Sinclair said they wouldn't air the show.
The situation with Nexstar and Sinclair isn't settled, despite Kimmel's return. After the Walt Disney Company announced Kimmel's return on Monday, Sinclair said in a statement that it would not air the show on its ABC affiliate stations, replacing it with news programming. The company said it was still in discussions with ABC and evaluating the show's "potential return." Carr said he supported the company's decision.
Last week, Sinclair said it would not lift the suspension on Kimmel's show until "appropriate steps" were taken and called for an apology to Kirk's family, among other demands.
Nexstar followed suit. On Tuesday, the company said it would also continue to air alternative programming instead of Kimmel's show on its ABC affiliate stations.
