Although “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return on Tuesday, some ABC affiliate TV stations will not air the late-night show.
Sinclair, one of the country’s biggest owners of local TV stations, said its ABC affiliates will preempt the show “beginning Tuesday night.” Instead of airing the show, Sinclair said it “will air news programming in the time slot instead.”
“Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” a Sinclair spokesperson told CNN.
After Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk, ABC suspended the late-night show “indefinitely” fter a threat from Brendan Carr, FCC chair.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson said at the time.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “That leaves Jimmy (Fallon) and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it, NBC!!!”
On Wednesday, Disney announced Kimmel’s return in a statement.
“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 Disney statement said. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. 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.”
The suspension caused backlash from the entertainment industry. More than “400 actors, musicians, directors, and other creatives signed an open letter organized by the American Civil Liberties Union.” They collectively condemned that station’s “move as a threat to free speech.” Some viewers canceled subscriptions to Disney-owned services in protest and trips to amusement parks.
So far, Kimmel has not issued a public apology.