Jimmy Kimmel’s show is set to return to TV, the Walt Disney Company said in a statement. This comes just six days after it was pulled off air ‘indefinitely’ following Kimmel’s comments on Charlie Kirk.
Disney issued a statement
The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, issued a statement confirming that Kimmel’s show will return on Tuesday, September 23.
“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,” the statement began, per People.
The show will return on Tuesday
“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” the company said of the suspension.
“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.”
Kimmel made controversial comments on Kirk
The suspension of Kimmel’s show came after he joked about Charlie Kirk’s death in his opening monologue on the September 15 episode.
He was discussing world events during the monologue when he mentioned Kirk’s death and the arrest of his alleged killer.
Kirk had died 5 days earlier
Right-wing activist, Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.
Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old prime suspect, was arrested and charged with seven counts including aggravated murder.
What Kimmel actually said
In his monologue, Kimmel 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
“In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” he added.
Kimmel also made jokes about the President
The host also made a joke about how Trump was taking Kirk’s murder.
He said, “On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”
He joked about the grieving process
Kimmel then showed a clip of Trump changing the subject when asked about Kirk’s death to talk about the new White House ballroom.
Kimmel added, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief, construction.”
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Kimmel had offered his condolences prior to this
Prior to the episode and shortly following Kirk’s death, Kimmel had offered his condolences to the commentator’s family on social media.
He wrote, “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” adding, “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
