Jimmy Kimmel Returns From Suspension In Tears — His Message To Supporters Will Give You Chills

After a suspension over remarks about Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, fighting back tears as he confronted the controversy, defended free speech, and thanked supporters.

Jimmy Kimmel just walked back onto his stage after a six-day timeout from ABC, and the return wasn’t business as usual. He opened with a highlight reel of the mess, got visibly choked up, and then spent most of the monologue doing two things: explaining himself and planting a big flag on free speech. Note: this recap reflects what aired on Sept 23, 2025; Kimmel was responding to a fast-moving, politically charged situation.

Back at the desk

Kimmel returned to 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' on September 23, 2025, after ABC benched him for comments tied to conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The cameras caught him fighting back tears as he pivoted between jokes and a pretty sober mea culpa.

'It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.'

He also stressed that he wasn’t trying to pin the act on any specific group, calling the perpetrator an obviously disturbed individual. The tone here: careful, deliberate, and clearly stung by how the whole thing escalated.

Who backed him (and who you might not expect)

Kimmel ran through a long thank-you list, from the usual late-night neighbors to folks across the aisle. The inside-baseball part is how many people who generally don’t line up with him publicly said, in essence, let the guy talk.

• Late-night colleagues: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Conan O'Brien
• Unlikely defenders: Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz

He even singled out Erika Kirk for publicly offering forgiveness in the aftermath, calling it a selfless act of grace. It was one of the more human moments of the night.

The free speech turn

Then he zeroed in on what he clearly sees as the bigger fight: attempts to muzzle late-night. He admitted he took free speech for granted until, as he put it, Stephen Colbert was yanked off the air. Kimmel also resurrected an old warning he attributed to FCC official Brendan Carr — 'We can do this the easy way or the hard way' — and labeled that kind of pressure a straight-up First Amendment violation. Inside baseball? Absolutely. But it’s rare to see a network late-night host say the quiet part out loud on air.

Trump took a swing, Kimmel swung back

Kimmel rolled a clip of Donald Trump calling him talentless and insisting he had no ratings. Kimmel’s comeback was basically: well, he had ratings tonight — and the room loved it. Classic late-night jab, but it landed because the crowd was already with him.

ABC timeout, not a breakup

He didn’t hide his frustration with the suspension, but he still thanked ABC for letting him back on quickly. The subtext: we’re not done fighting about this, but the show goes on.

Where he leaves it

Kimmel closed by asking viewers to push back on any more attempts to sideline late-night voices. Agree with him or not, he turned a messy week into a clear statement about what the job is — and what he thinks it should be — and he did it with his foot still on the gas.