Jimmy Kimmel made his return to his late-night program after a brief suspension was handed down over a monologue joke referencing Charlie Kirk. With the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host took moments in his opening monologue to deliver what some felt were well-timed jabs in the direction of President Donald Trump and a strong defense of free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room, which was his suspension from ABC television networks after tough talk from FCC Chair Brendan Carr surfaced, along with President Trump’s general disapproval of late-night comedians who take shots at him.
The reference Kimmel made to Kirk, who was slain earlier this month by a white Utah man, Tyler Robinson, did not make light of the killing but instead was largely aimed at Trump seeming indifferent about Kirk’s death, with the president talking of a new ballroom at the White House.
Tuesday night’s monologue also featured Kimmel humbly giving his condolences to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, making mention of her forgiving Robinson for the murder of her husband and adding that faith drove the decision, one he also agreed with. During this portion of the monologue, Kimmel appeared somewhat emotional, framing Robinson’s actions as those of someone deeply disturbed.
Kimmel got back to the funnies eventually, depicting the tough-talking Carr as a mob boss while harkening back to his bombastic threats against the media. Kimmel brought on veteran actor Robert De Niro, who played a version of Carr speaking like a consigliere to great comic effect.
Using every bit of the headline fodder he could, Kimmel hit back at Trump’s insults of his show having low ratings, capping a portion of his monologue by adding, “I do tonight,” with the studio audience erupting in heavy applause
On X, the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live was met with largely positive results. We’ve got reactions and the monologue itself listed below.
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