NEED TO KNOW
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to the air on Tuesday, Sept. 23 nearly a week after being indefinitely pulled from ABC
- During the first show back, Kimmel delivered an emotional monologue in which the host discussed the brief suspension of his show for the first time
- After Kimmel’s return, celebrities like Ben Stiller, Stephen Colbert and more offered praise and congratulations
As Jimmy Kimmel made his much-anticipated return to air on Tuesday, September 23, Ben Stiller and more celebrities are speaking out in support of the late-night host.
Stiller praised Kimmel’s tearful monologue, in which the host discussed the brief suspension of his show for the first time on air.
“What a brilliant monologue from Jimmy Kimmel,” Stiller posted to X.
Don Lemon offered his commentary on the monologue, saying that Kimmel struck the right tone in his return. “It was fantastic. I think he was right on, he hit the right tone, and that’s a pro. A real professional,” Lemon said in a video posted to Instagram. “All those people who were cheering for him to be fired or suspended, shame on you.
Lemon also shared a video clip of a joke from Kimmel’s monologue about how the controversy might push President Donald Trump to release the Epstein files, captioned with “RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!”
In the comments of Jimmy Kimmel Live‘s first post to Instagram since the hiatus, which featured Kimmel standing in front of an “On Air” sign, Kimmel received praise from several ceelbrities, including Walton Goggins, Melanie Griffith and Jamie Foxx.
“Go get em Jimmy…. You Redwood you,” Goggins wrote.
Stephen Colbert, whose CBS show The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was cancelled just days after he criticized parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump, welcomed Kimmel back into the fold.
“Welcome back, brother,” Colbert wrote from the official Late Show account.
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett also shared her support in the comments. “We love you!” she wrote.
The outpouring of support comes after nearly a week of uncertainty surrounding the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live. On Sept. 17, ABC announced that it would put Jimmy Kimmel Live! on indefinite hiatus following the host’s comments about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. That decision came shortly after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to pursue action against the network over its criticism of Trump.
ABC later reversed its decision, saying the company felt some of Kimmel’s comments were “ill-timed, and thus insensitive.”
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” the company’s statement read. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In his return monologue, Kimmel did not apologize for those comments, but was visibly emotional as he described the impact of the shooting and the fallout of the ensuing controversy.
“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 and I still do,” Kimmel said. “Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make.”
Trump was less enthusiastic about Kimmel’s return, writing on Truth Social that he might “test ABC” over the show’s return.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Sept. 23. “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.”
Although Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to ABC on Tuesday night, it did not air on affiliate stations owned by Nexstar and Sinclair.
Read the full article here