After just announcing an indefinite suspension, now there’s a sudden reversal! Following a wave of celebrity petitions, Disney and ABC have quickly changed course, announcing that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, will return to air on Tuesday night (the 23rd, U.S. time).
Last week, Disney announced that its subsidiary ABC would ‘indefinitely’ suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! The reason was that major U.S. TV network Nexstar Media threatened to refuse to broadcast the show, due to comments Jimmy Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk, a political ally of U.S. President Trump, who was killed. Nexstar later issued a statement ‘strongly opposing’ Jimmy’s remarks, and another major operator, Sinclair, also declared they would not air the show.
After the incident broke out, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), as well as rival late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, along with a petition signed by 400 Hollywood stars—including Oscar winner Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more big names—protested Disney’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely, warning that the move would seriously damage Americans’ freedom of speech. As the petition’s influence continued to grow, Disney swiftly shifted its stance, later issuing a statement: “Last Wednesday, we decided to pause production to avoid further inflaming tensions across the nation at a sensitive time, believing that some comments were poorly timed and thus appeared sensitive. But after several days of in-depth discussion with Jimmy, we have ultimately decided to return the show to air on Tuesday.”
Last week, Disney announced that its subsidiary ABC would ‘indefinitely’ suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! The reason was that major U.S. TV network Nexstar Media threatened to refuse to broadcast the show, due to comments Jimmy Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk, a political ally of U.S. President Trump, who was killed. Nexstar later issued a statement ‘strongly opposing’ Jimmy’s remarks, and another major operator, Sinclair, also declared they would not air the show.
After the incident broke out, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), as well as rival late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, along with a petition signed by 400 Hollywood stars—including Oscar winner Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more big names—protested Disney’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely, warning that the move would seriously damage Americans’ freedom of speech. As the petition’s influence continued to grow, Disney swiftly shifted its stance, later issuing a statement: “Last Wednesday, we decided to pause production to avoid further inflaming tensions across the nation at a sensitive time, believing that some comments were poorly timed and thus appeared sensitive. But after several days of in-depth discussion with Jimmy, we have ultimately decided to return the show to air on Tuesday.”