By Zo Terrana
Staff Writer
Disney plans to be reinstating “Jimmy Kimmel Live” back on ABC’s broadcast network beginning on Tuesday, the company said in a statement. According to CNBC, the decision has come nearly a week after Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely.
Last week the late night show was pulled by the network after Kimmel made remarks linking the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk to the MAGA movement of current president Donald Trump.
Disney stated, “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on 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.”
The media conglomerate has said that they have spoken with Kimmel and after having “thoughtful conversations” decided that his late-night talk show will be returning Tuesday, according to CNBC. The late night host will discuss the affairs of the situation during the taping of the show on Tuesday, according to an anonymous individual familiar with the matters reported by CNBC.
As stated by the anonymous person, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, discussed the situation of the late-night show return with Kimmel during the span of a few days. Kimmel was informed of his return on Monday, the anonymous person added according to CNBC.
ABC network pulled Kimmel's show after Federal Communications Commissioner Chair Brendan Carr threatened to confiscate ABC affiliate licenses over Kimmel’s comments. After Carr’s threat, two companies that own ABC affiliate stations across the United States named Nexstar and Sinclair made the decision to pull Kimmel’s show, according to NBC.
The recent suspension of Kimmel’s show sparked comparisons over Stephen Colbert's late-night show cancellation in July. Free speech concerns have been raised due to the cancellation and suspension of two prominent late-night talk shows according to CNBC.
During Trump’s second term in office, the administration has targeted ABC and NBC over what the administration deems, “unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives.” Media scrutiny at the hands of the Trump presidency has escalated as high profile defamation cases, the defunding public broadcasters and regulatory interference from the FCC have been accumulating, according to CNBC.
