“I Think We’ll See You Tomorrow”
In his emotional return to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the late-night host delivered a strong show and an even stronger monologue, clearly illustrating he’s not the enemy in this fight. But is that enough for this administration to back down?
Jimmy Kimmel delivered an emotional and lengthy monologue during his taped return to ABC on September 23, 2025. The network reinstated his late-night comedy show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, less than a week after his comment about Charlie Kirk‘s suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, caused an uproar among critics, many of whom are asking if he apologized.
Keep reading to find out whether or not Kimmel’s monologue included an apology.
Depending where you’re located, Jimmy Kimmel Live! is available to watch on ABC. However, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group pre-empted the show from its ABC-affiliated stations in multiple regions of the country.
Viewers can stream Kimmel’s show on either Hulu or Disney+ after episodes air on ABC.
No, Kimmel did not make a formal apology for the comment he made about Kirk’s alleged shooter and the “MAGA gang” on September 15. He did, however, get emotional during his monologue while clarifying that he “never” meant to “make light” of Kirk’s killing.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said while fighting back tears.. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. … [It wasn’t] my intention to blame any specific group for the actions what — it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. … That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that, to some, it felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”
Kimmel also pointed out that he immediately sent his condolences to Kirk’s widowed wife, Erika Kirk, and their children when the Turning Point USA founder was shot.
Kimmel had multiple talking points throughout his half-hour-long monologue. He praised Kirk’s wife for forgiving her late husband’s killer.
“She forgave him. That is an example we should follow,” Kimmel continued while his voice broke with emotion. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That, that’s it. A selfless act of grace. Forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many. And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that.”
The comedian also shared his reaction to Disney’s decision to pull him from the air one week prior, saying he was “not happy” about it.
“I did not agree with that decision, and I told them that, and we had many conversations,” he explained. “I shared my point of view; they shared theirs. We talked it through, and at the end, even though they didn’t have to, they really didn’t have to — this is a giant company. We have short attention spans, and I am a tiny part of the Disney Corporation. They welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that.”
Kimmel also poked fun at his employer by reading a fake note from Disney encouraging viewers to re-subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu after countless people canceled their accounts.
Lastly, Kimmel did not hold back from slamming Donald Trump and the FCC for their statements about talk show hosts.
“The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs,” Kimmel pointed out. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke. He was able to squeeze [Stephen] Colbert out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me, and now, he’s openly rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don’t make millions of dollars. And I hope that if that happens, or if there’s even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week.”
Kimmel discussed the freedom of speech in America and recalled meeting comedians from other countries, including Russia, who faced censorship from their leaders.
“Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country,” Kimmel said, before admitting, “And that’s something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That’s not legal.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back on ABC following a six-day suspension. The talk show returned on Tuesday, September 23, after it was indefinitely suspended by the network over comments host Jimmy Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk.
Cities with ABC affiliate stations owned by Nexstar and Sinclair will continue to see the late-night show preempted for now, but everyone else across the country was seated as Kimmel returned with his first monologue in nearly a week.
Scroll down for live updates from Kimmel’s return to late-night television, and keep refreshing since we’ll be updating throughout the episode.
The show began with clips from various other media outlets discussing how highly-anticipated this show is, then cut to Kimmel and Guillermo dressed in silly costumes in their green room (they eventually decided they needed to change). Kimmel entered the stage to a massive round of applause and the crowd chanting his name before he began his monologue.
“I’m happy to be here tonight with you,” he said, after making a joke about preempting Celebrity Family Feud to be on the air. “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol. It’s been overwhelming. I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people in the world over the last six days. Everyone I’ve ever met have reached out 10 or 11 times. The guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle, where we are not airing tonight, by the way, his name is Larry. In 1989 Larry tried to force me to do a bit called Jokes for Donuts, where people would call in and tell jokes for donuts, and I refused to do it and eventually Larry fired me and I had to move back in with my parents. Even he checked in. Thank you, Larry.”
He gave a special shout-out to his fellow talksshow hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, and many others, such as Howard Stern and Jay Leno. He noted that even late-night hosts from other countries reached out. “This country has become so authoritarian that even the Germans are like, ‘Come here!’”
Of course, he also gave a special message to his viewers who made sure their “voices were heard so mine could be heard.” Especially, though, he mentioned those who don’t share his beliefs, but stood up for his right to still be on the air, including Candace Owens and Ted Cruz. “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right,” Kimmel noted. “If Ted Cruz can’t speak freely, then he can’t cast spells on the Smurfs. Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects, some of the things they say make me want to throw up, it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did and they deserve credit for it. Telling your followers that your government cannot be allowed to control what we do.”
Kimmel then got emotional as he said, “You understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed asking compassion for his family, and I meant it. I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a specific individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation were reversed, there’s a good chance I would’ve felt the same way.”
He continued, “I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This is a sick person who thinks violence is a solution, and it isn’t ever. Also, selfishly, I am a person who get a lot of threats. I get many ugly and scary threats against my life, my wife, my kids, my coworkers, because of what I choose to say. And I know those threats don’t come from the people on the right who I know and love. And I don’t want to make this about me. This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”
Kimmel then spoke candidly about how it’s “not legal” and it’s “un-American” to force affiliates to take his show off the air. He specifically referenced FCC chair Brendan Carr’s comments about wanting to pull his show. “Brendan Carr is the most embarrassing car Republicans have embraced since this one,” he said, as a photo of a Tesla Cybertruck spray painted with Trump’s name showed on the screen.
Kimmel also pointed to past comments Carr made about free speech and shared an old clip of Donald Trump talking about how important it is for there to be free speech in this country. “That was also in 2022. How did that guy turn into this guy?” he continued, before showing a recent clip of Trump calling him a “wack job” and claiming he got “no ratings” for his show. Kimmel then smirked and added, “Well, I do tonight!”
“He did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show,” Kimmel joked. “That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.”
He then joked, “Disney has asked me to read the following statement and I have agreed to do it. Here we go: To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account, open the Disney+ app on your smart TV or connected device.” The audience cracked up.
Kimmel made sure to thank Disney for bringing him back on the air, even though they “didn’t have to,” he noted. “I was not happy when they pulled me off the air,” he said. “I did not agree with that decision and I told them that. We talked it through and in the end, even though they didn’t have to, they really didn’t have to, this is a giant company, we have short attention spans, and I am a tiny part of the Disney corporation, but they welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that.”
He also told his viewers that they should support Seth Meyers, Fallon, and any other late-night hosts who Trump has threatened to pull off the air if they’re put in similar situations in the future.
Kimmel went on to list a lot of things that “most Americans support,” regardless of where they stand politically, and urged viewers to “stop letting politicians tell us what they want and tell them what we want.”
To conclude his monologue, Kimmel referenced Kirk’s widow Erika’s remarks at his funeral. “Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. That is an example we should follow,” Kimmel insisted. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow, it touched me deeply. If there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, and not this.”
Kimmel joked that Guillermo offered to sell his Labubus to raise money for him when they were out of a job. Guillermo then took the floor to praise Kimmel as a “great man and a great father.” He also told his boss, “I love you and I stand with you all the way, brother.”
In the second segment of the show, Kimmel said he had the chairman of the FCC on the phone, and it ended up being Robert DeNiro on a video call. “It seems like the FCC is using mob tactics to suppress free speech,” Kimmel wondered. “What the f**k did you say to me?” DeNiro, pretending to be the new chair of the FCC, retaliated. “Speech, it ain’t free no more. We’re charging by the word now.”
The two went back and forth in a hilarious bit, which ended with DeNiro pretending to take a call from the president and joking, “I gotta go. A couple of cases of Tylenol fell off a truck and I gotta figure out how to put autism in them.”
Kimmel was back to his regular self at this point, poking fun at Trump for having to walk up an escalator that broke during his visit to the United Nations. “When you think about uniting nations, no one does it better than Don,” Kimmel joked, cutting to a clip of Trump saying, “I’m really good at this stuff. These countries are going to hell.” He also cracked jokes about Melania Trump.
He once again referenced Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s claims that pregnant women taking Tylenol causes autism in children. “Follow the advice of Donald Trump and you too can look liked a glazed ham with thrombosis,” he said. The audience cracked up as a montage of Trump saying, “Don’t take Tylenol,” dozens of times played.
The first guest of the night was Glen Powell. Kimmel apologized for dragging him “into the middle” of his mess. “I’m honored,” Powell confirmed. “I’m just so happy you’re back.”
More to come …
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35 p.m. ET, ABC
Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air Tuesday night, five days after his late-night show was unexpectedly pulled by Disney amid FCC pressure over comments he made surrounding comments regarding Charlie Kirk’s murder. Many—including Kimmel himself—believed that his comments were misconstrued and that the FCC used the episode as an opportunity to exert undue influence over ABC affiliates, effectively silencing one of Donald Trump’s most prominent critics.
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol,” Kimmel said to kick off his opening monologue.
Kimmel began by thanking fans, as well as the conservatives who supported him, including Ben Shapiro, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and Joe Rogan. “Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects — some of the things they say even make me want to throw up — it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did, and they deserve credit for it. Our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television.”
From there, Kimmel directly addressed his comments regarding Charlie Kirk. “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said through tears. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram of the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion, and I meant it. I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”
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“I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to even though we don’t agree on politics at all. I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone,” Kimmel continued. “This was a sick person, who believes violence was a solution, and it isn’t — ever.”
Kimmel also praised Kirk’s wife, Erika: “Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow.”
“It touched me deeply,” Kimmel added. “I hope it touches many, and if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that and not this.”
Ultimately, Kimmel concluded: “I don’t want to make this about me. This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this. I’ve had the opportunity to and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East who tell me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power. And worse than being thrown in prison, they know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country. And that’s something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That’s not legal. That’s not American. That is unAmerican.”
He proceeded to use the latter part of his monologue to go after Trump and FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, for their attempts to stifle free speech. “Should the government be allowed to regulate which podcasts the cell phone companies and Wi-Fi providers are allowed to let you download to make sure they serve the public interest?” Kimmel asked. “You think that sounds crazy? 10 years ago, this sounded crazy: Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, telling an American company, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, and that these companies can find ways to change conduct and take action on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” In addition to being a direct violation of the First Amendment, is not a particularly intelligent threat to make in public. Ted Cruz said he sounded like a mafioso… This genius said it on a podcast. Brendan Carr is the most embarrassing car Republicans have embraced since this one,” Kimmel joked he displayed a photo of a Tesla Cybertruck with Trump’s name painted on it.”
Then hitting Trump directly, Kimmel quipped, “He tried his best to cancel me. Instead he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.”
To further his point, Kimmel closed his monologue with a bit featuring Robert De Niro playing the FCC’s new chairman/mob boss.
For his part, Trump is threatening legal action against ABC. In a Truth Social post shared ahead of Kimmel’s first episode back, Trump wrote:
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.”
“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 is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely after comments that he made about Charlie Kirk’s killing led a group of ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show
Kimmel, the veteran late-night comic, made several comments about the reaction to Kirk’s assassination on his show Monday and Tuesday nights. He said that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
ABC, which has aired Kimmel’s late-night show since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday.
Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates.
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel.
President Donald Trump celebrated ABC’s move on the social media site Truth Social, writing: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
He also targeted two other late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and said they should be canceled too, calling them “two total losers.”
Kimmel’s contract is up at the end of next season, which ends in May 2026.
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On Twitter Wednesday night, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted: “Welcome to Consequence Culture. Normal, common sense Americans are no longer taking the b———- and companies like ABC are finally willing to do the right and reasonable thing.”
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel said that “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 that Trump’s response to Kirk’s death “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?” He also said that FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the murder “like a kid who didn’t read the book, BS’ing his way through an oral report.”
He returned to the topic on Tuesday night, mocking Vice President JD Vance’s performance as guest host for Kirk’s podcast.
He said Trump was “fanning the flames” by attacking people on the left.
“Which is it, are they a bunch of sissy pickleball players because they’re too scared to be hit by tennis balls, or a well-organized deadly team of commandos, because they can’t be both of those things.”
Authorities say Tyler Robinson, 22, who is charged with killing Kirk, grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but was enmeshed in “leftist ideology.”
His parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year.
Utah records show he was registered as a voter, but not affiliated with either political party. His voter status is inactive, meaning he did not vote in two regular general elections.
He told his transgender partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
Kimmel, like CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, has consistently been critical of President Donald Trump and many of his policies on his ABC show.
CBS said this past summer that it was canceling Colbert’s show at the end of this season for financial reasons, although some critics have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role.
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