Jimmy Kimmel’s fellow late-night comedians are celebrating his return to TV following a suspension.
On Monday, September 22, ABC announced that it’s putting Kimmel back on the air starting Tuesday, September 23, less than a week after he was suspended for his commentary about President Donald Trump and the late conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk.
The news sparked positive reactions from Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart, all of whom were among those who supported Kimmel, 57, amid the controversy that began last week.
“We do, like, 160 of these a year or something and when I have the chance, it’s always nice to start the show with some good news,” Colbert, 61, said during his monologue on Monday’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
“Just a few hours before we tape this broadcast, we got word that our long national late nightmare is over, because Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to air on ABC tomorrow, Tuesday night,” the CBS host continued, drawing cheers from the studio audience.
“Wonderful news for my dear friend Jimmy and his amazing staff that he can continue his show,” Colbert added. “You know, I’m so happy for them.”
Holding his new Emmy Award, Colbert said “now that Jimmy’s not being canceled, I get to enjoy this again. … Once more, I am the only martyr in late night! Wait. Unless, CBS, do you wanna announce anything?”
The irreverent host was referring to the network’s recent decision to end The Late Show next May.
Meanwhile, over on NBC, Meyers, 51, celebrated on his show, telling the audience, “There has been a massive national backlash to Trump’s crackdown on free speech, even among conservatives. I haven’t seen a poll yet, but I think if you asked Americans if the president should be dictating what TV hosts can and can’t say, you’d get about 3 percent positive and…” — he cut to footage of Trump saying — “97 percent negative.”
And on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Jon Stewart referenced Kimmel supporters canceling their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions to protest ABC’s decision to pull Kimmel from its weeknight lineup.
“I want to say this seriously, that campaign that you all launched, pretending that you were going to cancel Hulu while secretly racing through four seasons of Only Murders in the Building, that really worked. Congratulations,” Stewart, 62, joked Monday. “Wasn’t it interesting to try and figure out all the tentacles Disney has in your daily life? It’s one thing to swear off cruises, but The Avengers? Nah.”
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