By Dawn Chmielewski, David Shepardson and Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Disney said it would return “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to the air, six days after it suspended the show over comments by its host about the assassination of Charlie Kirk that had prompted a threat by the head of the U.S. communications regulator.
The proposed return of the show represents a high-profile move from the private sector to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump in his efforts to crack down on perceived media critics through litigation and threats of regulatory action.
In announcing Monday’s decision, Disney said last week’s suspension of the late-night comedy show that airs on its ABC network had been “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.” Disney said in the statement it felt some of Kimmel’s comments “were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” the statement said.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden talked with Kimmel over the weekend, according to two people familiar with the matter. The decision was guided by what was in the entertainment company’s best interest, rather than external pressure from station owners or the Federal Communications Commission regulator, the sources said.
Kimmel is expected to address the issue when his show returns on Tuesday, according to the sources.
A spokeswoman for Kimmel could not immediately be reached for comment.
CONSUMER BACKLASH?
One source said Disney had been feeling backlash from consumers, who mounted a social media campaign to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions in response to the Kimmel suspension. Google searches for ‘how to cancel Disney+’ spiked to a 12-month high, according to Google Trends.
Media studies professor Susan Campbell said the decision was likely based on business considerations rather than the desire to uphold free speech rights, as enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“Consumers were exercising their own First Amendment rights and ending their subscriptions to the company’s streaming services,” said Campbell, who teaches communication, film and media studies at the University of New Haven.
“My hope is that Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air with no new restrictions as to the topics he can explore and the approach he can take in his explorations.”
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for conservative activist Kirk’s organization Turning Point USA, criticized Disney’s decision.
“Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make,” Kolvet said in a post on X.
Trump, who has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content that he has found objectionable, had celebrated the news of Kimmel’s suspension and referred to it erroneously as an outright cancellation of the show.
REMARKS FACED CRITICISM
Kimmel, who has frequently targeted Trump, faced heavy criticism for the remarks he made last Monday about the political affiliation of the alleged shooter in the September 10 assassination of Kirk, who was gunned down while addressing a crowd on a Utah university campus.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in his monologue.
Kirk, a 31-year-old political activist and podcast host, had been credited for building support for Trump and the Republican Party among young voters in 2024.
A 22-year-old technical school student from Utah has been charged with his murder. The precise motive for the killing remains unclear.
Kimmel’s comment led to a response from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who urged local broadcasters to stop airing the late-night show and suggested the commission could open an investigation leading to potential fines or broadcast license suspensions of local stations if a pattern of news distortion was found.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said in a podcast interview that aired on Wednesday. His remarks drew criticism from across the political spectrum.
Earlier on Monday, Carr insisted that Disney’s decision to yank Kimmel from the air was a business one and not the result of government action. “Jimmy Kimmel is in the situation that he is in because of his ratings, not because of anything that’s happened at the federal government level,” Carr said at a forum before Kimmel was reinstated.
Carr did not immediately comment on Disney’s action.
The owners of dozens of local TV stations affiliated with ABC have said they will no longer carry the show, including Nexstar, which needs FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
Nexstar could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Disney shares, which fell in trading last week, closed down 1% on Monday.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Editing by Richard Chang and Rosalba O’Brien)
