Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air just days after being suspended “indefinitely” for claiming that the man who shot and killed Charlie Kirk was one of the “MAGA gang.” His show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will air on Tuesday, Sept. 23 for the first time since…. well… since last week. However, the waters haven’t completely calmed. Sinclair Broadcast Group will not be running the show on any of the ABC-affiliated TV stations it operates – not unless Kimmel repents. Sinclair “owns, operates, and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 85 markets,” according to its website.
Opening his Sept. 15 show, just five days after Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University, Jimmy Kimmel said, “The MAGA gang desperately [sic] 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.”
As Liberty Nation News has reported, Kirk’s killer was very much on the left side of the political chasm. Those who knew him all corroborated this fact. Not only that, but it was simply inconceivable that such a beloved and powerful figure in the conservative movement would have been murdered by one of his own. LNN observed:
“Kirk was instrumental in [President Trump’s] 2024 election victory and would undoubtedly have been a big factor in Republican hopes for electoral success in 2026, 2028, and beyond.”
Disney, ABC’s parent company, wasted little time in canning Kimmel, sparking an immediate backlash. Leftists on social media were quick to call for a boycott of all things Disney and ABC. Subscriptions were canceled and, if boasts on X are to be believed, shares were sold. But some of those people who thought they were punishing Disney may now be having sellers’ remorse.
On Sept. 22, the entertainment giant did an about-face to restore Jimmy Kimmel. In a statement, Disney said it suspended the host “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” but added, “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.”
Not long after that revelation, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that, no, all is not forgiven. “Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” the company declared. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Kimmel has already stated that he has no plans to apologize for his dishonesty, though sources say he will address the Charlie Kirk issue upon his return.
Is the left rejoicing that Jimmy Kimmel is back? That seems to be the case, though perhaps they are busy renewing their subscriptions or agonizing over the fact that those Disney shares they hastily offloaded haven’t gone down in value, which means they would pay more to buy them back than they originally paid for them. What about the right? Conservatives certainly shared some jokes and memes at Kimmel’s expense when they thought he got the boot. Are they devastated that he has risen like a turkey from the ashes? Probably not.