Jimmy Kimmel draws huge audience in emotional return

Six days after the late-night TV suspension that shook the world, Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show Tuesday night to make sense of what just happened, or try to anyway — and millions watched, on TV and online.

ABC reported nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the broadcast alone, despite blackouts in many cities. There was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people viewing Kimmel's opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening. ABC says more than 26 million people watched Kimmel's return on social media, including YouTube.

Typically, Kimmel gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television. ABC's numbers do not include viewership from streaming services.

Contrite but just short of an apology, Kimmel spent nearly 20 minutes thanking supporters, blasting critics — two, in particular — and capped it all with an emotional tribute to Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. She had forgiven her husband's killer during his memorial on Sunday.

"That is the example we should follow," he said — voice breaking, eyes tearing. "If you believe in the teaching of Jesus, as I do, there it was — a selfless act from a grieving widow [which] touched me deeply and I hope touches many. If there's anything we should take from this tragedy, I hope it will be that."

Kimmel also clarified remarks made on the Sept. 15 edition of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," in which he said "the MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" — comments that led to the suspension.

"I have been hearing about what I need to hear and say," he said referring to those comments, then added: "I have no illusion about changing" critics' minds. "But I do want to make something clear — it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man."

His voice breaking again, Kimmel said he had earlier posted messages supportive of the Kirk family on Instagram "and I meant it and I still do. It was not my intention to blame any group for what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was the opposite of what I intended."

What may have been the most anticipated monologue in late-night TV history began as expected — an extended standing ovation for the prodigal host who then conceded the strangeness of the whole thing ("I'm not sure who had a weirder 48 hours — me or the CEO of Tylenol"). Part standard late-night opener, part barnburner, Kimmel used the occasion of his most-watched monologue since the Oscars to score points for freedom of speech, freedom of the press and his late-night colleagues, 

He also settled some scores. In one bit, he showed a clip of President Donald Trump celebrating Kimmel's brief "cancellation" — "no talent, a whack job, he has no ratings," according to Trump.

With that last line, Kimmel took a beat, then said: "Well, I do now!"

Trump, he said, "tried to cancel me and [instead] forced millions to watch the show. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this."

Trump released a statement on Truth Social just before Tuesday's return that said in part, "I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was canceled! ... He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings."

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was placed on "indefinite" hold last Wednesday after Kimmel's comments about Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of killing Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 during a rally at a college campus in Utah.

Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman, jumped in with his own flame-throwing comment ("we can do this the easy way or hard way") in a veiled threat to Disney's TV station licenses. Not long after, ABC said the show would be "indefinitely" preempted, leading some to believe that it would never return. More outrage followed, this time from the left.

On Tuesday, ABC explained in a statement that "we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive." The show was then put on ice "to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country."

And indeed, that remained at the crux of Tuesday night's return, or the rock and the hard place Kimmel had found himself caught between. Could he say something short of an abject apology that didn't further inflame Kirk supporters, including those boycotting stations? Or would even a hint of contrition just end up infuriating his supporters?

Kimmel seemed to acknowledge this by thanking some from the right who were supportive — most notably Sen. Ted Cruz, who said the suspension was dangerous for democracy. But he also took direct aim at Carr, or "the most embarrassing Carr the Republicans have embraced since this one" — cut to a Tesla Cybertruck with a huge Trump sign emblazoned on the side.

Kimmel then asked, "Were there conditions for my return?"

Unfolding a piece of paper, he joked, "Disney asked me to read the following statement. 'To reactivate your Disney + and Hulu accounts ...'

Kimmel conceded he was "not happy" about the suspension, and "I didn't agree with that decision." But "they welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that."

Kimmel also returned to the web Tuesday — which could be his show's lifeline going forward. Two major station groups remain holdouts — the ABC stations of Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group Inc., which represent about a quarter of all ABC affiliates.

While those holdouts will hurt in the long run because of diminished advertiser revenue, in the short they're probably less important because most viewers watch "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on his YouTube channel, or on YouTube TV and Hulu. That means that even in those biggest cities where there are blackouts — Washington, D.C., and Seattle — there are still other options to watch.

With AP