Jimmy Kimmel Live! came back on the air less than a week after his highly publicized ABC suspension. Following six days of tumultuous headlines and debate over the concept of freedom of speech, Jimmy Kimmel returned to the stage and was greeted with a standing ovation by his audience in Los Angeles; also in the crowd were his parents, an attendee revealed. But it was Kimmel’s monologue that the entire country was waiting for.
In case you weren’t able to tune into Jimmy Kimmel Live! yet, we have a breakdown of his monologue below.
How to Watch Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Most cable users can watch Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. However, stations run by Nexstar Media Group or Sinclair Broadcast Group did not air Kimmel’s September 23 episode.
How to Stream Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Fans can stream Kimmel’s return episode on either Hulu or Disney+ after it’s released.
Jimmy Kimmel’s Monologue: What Did He Say About Charlie Kirk?
Kimmel got right to the point in his monologue by clarifying that his “MAGA gang” quip was not an intended joke about Charlie Kirk‘s murder.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said as his voice broke with emotion. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. … [It wasn’t] my intention to blame any specific group for the actions what — it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual,” he added, referring to Kirk’s suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson.
“That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that, to some, it felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both,” the comedian noted. “And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”
Kimmel made sure to praise Kirk’s widowed wife, Erika Kirk, for forgiving her late husband’s killer.
“She forgave him. That is an example we should follow,” Kimmel continued. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That, that’s it. 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.”
Kimmel then discussed Donald Trump‘s calls for him and several of his fellow late-night TV hosts — including Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon — to be ousted from the airwaves.
“The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs,” Kimmel pointed out. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke. He was able to squeeze [Stephen] Colbert out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me, and now, he’s openly rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don’t make millions of dollars. And I hope that if that happens, or if there’s even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week.”
Regarding Disney’s decision to yank him off the air, Kimmel admitted he “did not agree with that decision, and I told them that, and we had many conversations.”
“I shared my point of view; they shared theirs,” he explained. “We talked it through, and at the end, even though they didn’t have to, they really didn’t have to — this is a giant company. We have short attention spans, and I am a tiny part of the Disney Corporation. They welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that.”
Finally, one of Kimmel’s biggest talking points was the concept of the freedom of speech. Pointing out that he’s talked to comedians from other countries, including Russia, Kimmel said, “Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country, and that’s something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That’s not legal.”