News
Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Social Media Silence Following Suspension and Ahead of Late-Night Show Return
Jimmy Kimmel returned to social media for the first time since his late night show was suspended due to comments he made regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel, 57, shared a photo of himself and the late Norman Lear in an Instagram post on Tuesday, September 23.
“Missing this guy today,” he captioned the photo, which could be perceived as a pointed message amid his recent controversy.
Lear — who died in December 2023 — was a legendary television producer and writer, best known for creating groundbreaking sitcoms like All in the Family, Good Times, Maude and The Jeffersons. He often used comedy in his shows to address social and political issues including race, gender, and class, and he was considerably outspoken when it came to his First Amendment rights.
Lear also founded People for the American Way in 1980, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting constitutional freedoms, particularly the First Amendment.
“I’m known to be quite liberal, progressive, etc.,” he told a crowd of UCLA community members at an event in January 2018. “I think of myself, truly, as a bleeding heart conservative. You will not ‘eff’ with my First Amendment, my Bill of Rights, my Constitution or my Declaration — every single word of it. My dedication [to] life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans could not be stronger.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was “suspended indefinitely” by ABC after the late night host criticized President Donald Trump and his supporters and their reactions to the death of Kirk, who was shot and killed at the age of 31 during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour on September 10.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr later appeared as a guest on Benny Johnson’s podcast on September 17 and threatened ABC, Disney and Kimmel.
“There’s calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this,” Carr said. “Frankly, when we see stuff like this, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Kimmel’s suspension enraged several celebrities and over 400 stars, including Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston and more, signed a letter from the ACLU on Monday, September 22, and showed their support for him. Hours later, it was announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to the air on Tuesday, September 23.
