Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday returned to late-night television after a nearly week-long suspension and, in an emotional monologue where he appeared close to tears, said that he was not trying to joke about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
He added that he was not trying to blame any specific group “for the actions of what ... was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make.”
Photo: Randy Holmes, Disney via AP
He said he understood his remarks last week to some “felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both.”
However, he made no apologies, and he criticized the ABC affiliates who took his show off the air.
Two station groups that represent about a quarter of ABC stations, Sinclair and Nexstar, ordered their outlets not to show Kimmel on Tuesday.
“That’s not legal,” Kimmel said. “That’s not American. It’s un-American.”
The incident triggered a national discussion about freedom of speech and US President Donald Trump’s ability to police the words of journalists, commentators and even comics. ABC suspended Kimmel’s show on Wednesday last week following criticism of his remarks about the aftermath of Kirk’s killing, but the network brought him back following a backlash against parent company Disney.
Kimmel thanked many supporters, including fellow late-night hosts past and present, and even a former boss at a radio station in Seattle who checked in with him last week. He also singled out people he knows are not fans of his comedy, but stood up for his right to speak, including US Senator Ted Cruz.
“It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration,” he said. “They did and they deserve credit for it.”
Kimmel nearly broke down again in praising Kirk’s widow, Erika, who publicly forgave her husband’s killer.
“That is an example we should follow,” he said. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was ... a selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many. And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, and not this.”
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