Jimmy Kimmel will make a widely anticipated return to late-night television on Tuesday night, only a week after ABC suspended him for making comments that ignited a political firestorm and national debate over free speech.
Kimmel’s remarks, knocking conservatives’ response to the killing of activist Charlie Kirk, earned him a sharp rebuke from President Trump and his allies, including his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair.
When Disney announced this week it would reinstate Kimmel, the company did not indicate if it expected the comedian to apologize for the remarks, as some have called for him to do, or shed any light on how he would address the controversy his monologue had caused.
And while Kimmel will return Tuesday night, he won’t be carried by some ABC affiliates after two local station owners said they would not carry his program.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill and dozens of ABC affiliates across the country, said its decision to preempt Kimmel was made “pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”
Sinclair similarly said in a statement that “discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Kimmel’s return was the talk of Hollywood and Washington on Tuesday, ahead of what is expected to be one of his largest television audiences ever.
Kimmel, longtime TV and media critic Bill Carter wrote this week, “will be center stage at what is shaping up as one of the true television events of the year.”
“Everybody will be either watching, or checking in later to hear what Kimmel said,” Carter wrote. “At least in the short term, the ‘failing Jimmy Kimmel’ is going to have the most-watched and talked-about show on television.”
Disney called Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s killing “ill-timed and insensitive,” and said it took him off the air to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for the country.”
The company said it conducted “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy” during his suspension, and Kimmel reportedly refused to issue an on-air apology as the two sides worked to negotiate his return to the airwaves.
The statements from Nexstar and Sinclair underscore how closely they will be following how Kimmel responds publicly to the controversy his comments caused, and the high-stakes nature of Tuesday night’s show not just for Kimmel, but for those who transmit his show to millions across the country.
Sinclair’s and Nexstar’s boycotts came after FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr blasted Kimmel for his comments on Kirk and suggested local affiliates drop his show, arguing the program was not serving the public’s interest. Both Sinclair and Nexstar are expected to have major business before the FCC; Nexstar recently announced plans to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna as part of a massive deal that will require approval from Carr’s FCC.
Trump, who celebrated Kimmel’s suspension at the time, has not commented on the comedian’s planned return this week but has not shied away from weighing in on live television events as they play out.
Carr in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon accused Democrats of engaging “in nothing more than Projection and Distortion” on the Kimmel controversy.
“Notably, this is the first time recently that any local TV stations have pushed back on a national programmer like Disney,” Carr said. “And that is a good thing because we want empowered local TV stations.”
Critics of the administration, who have said Trump and his allies are trying to silence dissent, applauded Disney’s decision to bring Kimmel back.
“The big story here is we still have a situation where government power was used to try and intimidate platforms from hosting people who were critical of the president,” political strategist David Axelrod said during an appearance on CNN.
“So, we‘re not out of the woods here by any stretch of the imagination, but we should celebrate, I think more than anything, the fact that Jimmy Kimmel stuck to his principles and that there was a well of outcry about it that caused — that caused Disney to bring him back,” he continued.
ABC’s daytime table talk program “The View” did not address news of Kimmel’s planned return on Tuesday, opting to preempt its daily “hot topics” segment for coverage of Trump’s address to the United Nations.
Kimmel himself has remained silent since his suspension and subsequent reinstatement, outside of a lone Instagram post made Tuesday morning as he prepped for his late-night return: a photo with the late legendary Hollywood producer and showrunner Norman Lear with the short caption “missing this guy today.”
