Weeks after his late-night talk show was suspended over his comments about Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel speaks out about the public’s reaction.
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During a Bloomberg Screentime event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Kimmel said he didn’t see anything wrong with his Sept. 15 monologue.
“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,” Jimmy Kimmel said during the monologue. “And [they are] doing everything they can to score political points for it.”
Kimmel also spoke about how President Trump ordered American flags to fly at half-staff. However, he then pointed out that the world leader didn’t seem as heartbroken as he had led the public to believe, as he pivoted a conversation with reporters from discussing Kirk’s death to bragging about the new White House ballroom.
Following the Jimmy Kimmel Live! episode, ABC Television Network affiliate Nexstar stated its partnered television stations would “preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future.”
Less than a week later, the Walt Disney Company confirmed Kimmel’s show would return.
Jimmy Kimmel said he now believes his initial comments were “intentionally and I think maliciously mischaracterized.”
Jimmy Kimmel Opens Up About His Conversations With Disney Executives Following His Show’s Suspension
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel shared details about his communications with Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden following the suspension.
Calling his talks with Iger and Walden “really good,” Kimmel said, “These are people that I’ve known for a long time and who I like very much, and we all wanted this to work out best.”
Kimmel further shared that his conversations with Walden helped him think everything through. He also said the conversations helped him to “just understand where everyone was coming from” regarding the monologue backlash.
“I can sometimes be reactionary,” he said. “I can sometimes be aggressive, and I can sometimes be unpleasant, and I think that really having those days to think about it was helpful.”