Jimmy Kimmel is unfortunately back on the air.

On Tuesday Night, Jimmy Kimmel walked back his previous comments that a MAGA supporter assassinated Charlie Kirk.

In case you haven’t seen the video that resulted in his suspension, here it is:

Kimmel started his show by saying, “Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted.”

Fox News provided details and quotes from Kimmel’s opening monologue:

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“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host Jimmy Kimmel insisted that he never intended to make light of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in comments that led to his show’s suspension.

Tuesday night was the first show Kimmel hosted since Disney announced its return on Monday after nearly a week off the air.

Kimmel came out to a standing ovation which continued into chants of “Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy!” and ongoing cheering.

“If you are just joining us, we are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of ‘Celebrity Family Feud,’ we’re bringing you this special report,” Kimmel opened. “I’m happy to be here with you tonight.”

He went on to thank his fellow late-night talk show hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and David Letterman, along with right-leaning critics like Clay Travis and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for showing some support for him during his suspension.

Kimmel then addressed, though did not apologize for, the comments that originally got him suspended.

“I’ve been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight, and the truth is, I don’t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference,” Kimmel said. “If you like me, you like me. If you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind. But I want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is – you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”

Kimmel began tearing up as he said he posted a message to Instagram sending love to Kirk’s family the day of his death.

“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions,” he continued. “It was a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that, to some, it 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 would have felt the same way.”

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Here is the full monologue:

Benny Johnson noted many ABC stations are still not airing Kimmel’s show:

What do you think?

Axios reported more on Kimmel being off the air in some areas:

Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to television, but not everywhere.

Disney is bringing back “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after a week-long suspension, but two big TV station owners will block the show from more than a quarter of ABC affiliates.

Kimmel’s on-air comments on conservatives’ reaction to Charlie Kirk’s killing sparked a backlash that resulted in Disney suspending Kimmel’s show.

That backlash led to another backlash from public figures, Disney customers, and policymakers who said the company was caving to the Trump administration’s crackdown on free speech.

Disney reversed course and said the show would return Tuesday.

But that didn’t stop two of the country’s largest local TV owners — Sinclair and Nexstar — from defying Disney’s decision and keeping Kimmel off the air.

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Disney said in a statement it suspended the show “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”

“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 other side: Sinclair said it will keep pre-empting the show across its ABC affiliates, replacing it with news programming while talks with ABC continue.

“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” the company said in a statement

Nexstar said Tuesday its affiliates will also pre-empt the show, “pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”

 

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