On Tuesday, September 23, Jimmy Kimmel made his return to his late-night show after a five-day suspension. Glen Powell made an appearance to talk about his upcoming show “Chad Powers,” as well as musical guest Sarah McLachlan, who debuted her new song “Better Broken.”
Jimmy Kimmel is a well-known talk show host, and his show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was suspended on September 17 after mentioning Charlie Kirk and his death on September 10.
But it was announced on September 22 that his show would be returning. One big question had many viewers wondering: what would his monologue include?
Kimmel opened the show to the crowd chanting his name and resounding applause. The host could barely get a word out over the crowd.
Once the chanting died down, Kimmel started out with some of the recent news, including the recent statement made by the Trump administration that claimed taking Tylenol during pregnancy would cause autism.
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol.” Kimmel said.
Kimmel quickly moved on to address the immense support he’s received. He mentioned those who reached out to him, including other notable talk-show hosts and “friends” such as Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Kimmel also mentioned a message he got from a talk-show host in Germany. He acknowledged the irony of receiving a job offer from a country with Germany’s history.
Kimmel also expressed his thanks to his fans and got emotional over their support. He said he would never forget the fans who used their voices to ensure that he could return to television.
The host even thanked those who don’t support him but supported his right to share his beliefs, such as Ben Shapiro, Cadence Owens and Mitch McConnell.
Among the detractors, Kimmel mentioned his “old pal” Ted Cruz, saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever said this, but Ted Cruz is right.” Kimmel said.
“Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects–some of the things they say even make me want to throw up–it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did, and they deserve credit for it.”
He then continued by saying he was aware that people were looking to see what he would say tonight but acknowledged that what he would say probably wouldn’t make a difference. He got choked up while addressing the murder of Charlie Kirk, saying he never meant to make light of the situation. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.” Kimmel said.
He reached out to Kirk’s family via social media and called for people to have compassion in the wake of the incident. But the monologue’s broader point was the importance of free speech, which of course was the main debate since his suspension. He called the fact that both he and Colbert were taken off the air “un-American.”
Eventually, he got to how he felt about being taken off the air, saying that he wasn’t happy with it. Kimmel talked about his discussion with Disney and how they agreed to put him back on. But he also talked about how the current administration’s views on those who oppose them and how that relates back to being “un-American.”
Kimmel eventually ended his monologue by talking about Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika, and how she forgave the person who shot her husband.
He followed this up by saying, “That is an example we should follow.” He expressed how he felt deeply touched by this and his hopes for carrying this message forward.
