LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel made an emotional return to his late-night show Tuesday night after a nearly weeklong suspension for remarks he made after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.
For 16 minutes, Kimmel mixed humor, pointed messages and emotion to talk about his suspension, the support he’s received and praised Kirk’s widow.
Here are seven key moments from his opening monologue, edited for clarity and brevity.
Kimmel talks about the support he’s received
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours. Me or the CEO of Tylenol. So it’s been overwhelming. I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people in the world over the last six days, everyone I have ever met has reached out 10 or 11 times.
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Weird characters from my past are emai— the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle — where we are not airing tonight by the way — Sorry, Seattle. His name is Larry. In 1989, Larry tried to force me to do a bit called jokes for donuts, where people would call in with a joke and I would give them donuts. I refused to do it. And then I made a lot of fun of Larry for suggesting it. And eventually Larry fired me and I had to move back in with my parents. But even he wrote in to cheer me up. Thank you Larry, and I want to thank everyone who checked in on the show.
Some that I do especially want to mention are my fellow late night talk show hosts, my friend Stephen Colbert. He’s found himself in this predicament. My friends Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Conan O’Brien, James Corden, Arsenio, Kathy, Wanda, Chelsea, even Jay (Leno) reached out. I heard from late-night hosts in other countries, from Ireland and from Germany. The guy in Germany offered me a job.
Can you imagine?
This country has become so authoritarian, the Germans are like, “Come here. Cut loose.” My boyhood idols, Howard Stern and David Letterman, were very considerate and kind and I feel honored to be part of a group of people that knows what goes into doing a show like this. And I also want to thank all of you — I do — who supported our show, cared enough to do something about it, to make your voices heard so that mine could be heard. I will never forget it.”
Kimmel on support from surprising places
Kimmel: “And maybe, weirdly, maybe, most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway. I never would have imagined if, like Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, even my old pal Ted Cruz who believe it or not, said something very beautiful on my behalf.
Ted Cruz clip: “I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired.”
Kimmel: “Oh, wait, no, not that — the other part.”
Ted Cruz clip: “But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying (crosstalk) what you can and can’t say what you the media have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like, that will end up bad for conservatives.”
Kimmel: “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right. He’s absolutely right. This affects all of us, including him. I mean, think about it. If Ted Cruz can’t speak freely, then he can’t cast spells on the Smurfs.
Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects, some of the things they say even make me want to throw up. It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration. They did, and they deserve credit for it. And thank for telling your followers that our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television, and that we have to stand up to it. “
Kimmel talks about Charlie Kirk
“I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion. And I meant it. I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what, it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make.
But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. And for those who think I did, point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.
I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all. I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution. And it isn’t ever.
And also, selfishly, I am, I am a person who gets a lot of threats. I get many ugly and scary threats against my life, my wife, my kids, my coworkers because of what I choose to say. And I know those threats don’t come from the kind of people on the right who I know and love. So that’s what I wanted to say on that subject. “
Kimmel on the FCC and chairman Brendan Carr
“I want you to think about this: Should the government be allowed to regulate which podcasts the cell phone companies and Wi-Fi providers are allowed to let you download to make sure they serve the public interest? You think that sounds crazy, but 10 years ago, this sounded crazy, Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, telling an American company, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, and that these companies can find ways to change, conduct and take action on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.
In addition to being a direct violation of the First Amendment, is not a particularly intelligent threat to make in public. Ted Cruz said he sounded like a mafioso. Although I don’t know, if you want to hear a mob boss make a threat like that, you have to hide a microphone in a deli and park outside in a van with a tape recorder all night long. This genius said it on a podcast.
Kimmel says Trump has boosted ratings
“You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried, did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now. ”
ABC’s ‘condition’ for Kimmel returning and the host’s gratitude
“I know a lot of people have been asking me if there are conditions for my return to the air, and there is one. Disney has asked me to read the following statement, and, I have agreed to do it.
Here we go: To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account, open the Disney+ app on your smart TV or TV connected device. (laughter)
I’ve been, um, fortunate to work at a company that has allowed me to do the show the way we want to do it for almost 23 years. I’ve done almost 4,000 shows on ABC. And over that time, the people who run this network have allowed me to evolve and to stretch the boundaries of what was once traditional for a late night talk show, even when it made them uncomfortable, which I do a lot.
Every night, they’ve defended my right to poke fun at our leaders and to advocate for subjects that I think are important by allowing me to use their platform. And I am very grateful for that. With that said, I was not happy when they pulled me off the air on. I did not agree with that decision and I told them that and we had many conversations. I shared my point of view. They shared theirs. We talked it through and at the end, even though they didn’t have to, they really didn’t have to. This is a giant company. We have short attention spans, and I am a tiny part of the Disney Corporation. They welcomed me back on the air and I thank them for that. But unfortunately, and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk.”
Kimmel says to follow Erika Kirk’s example of forgiveness
“There was a moment over the weekend, a very beautiful moment. I don’t know if you saw this. On Sunday, Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow.
If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was. That’s, that’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply. And I hope it touches many. And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that.”
