Shortly after 400 actors, musicians and directors signed an open letter with the ACLU denouncing the suspension of „Jimmy Kimmel Live!,“ ABC announced the show would be returning on Tuesday. Naturally, the social media response has been varied.
it was announced that less than a week after “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was indefinitely suspended by ABC, the network has agreed to bring the show back, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23. Naturally, politicians and celebrities are hopping on social media (and even late night shows) to weigh in on the turn of events.
“It’s always nice to start the show with some good news,” Stephen Colbert began his monologue on “The Late Show” Monday night.
“Well, just a few hours before we taped this broadcast, we got word that our long national late night-mare is over, because Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live will return to air on ABC! Wonderful news for my dear friend Jimmy and his amazing staff. I’m so happy for them, plus, now that Jimmy’s not being canceled, I get to enjoy this again,” he said, grabbing the Emmy award he nabbed this month. “Once more, I am the only martyr in late night, unless CBS—you want to announce anything?”
Last week, Nexstar Media Group Inc. announced it was nixing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its ABC affiliate stations for the “foreseeable future” after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr implied the FCC would take regulatory action in response to Kimmel’s remarks in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
The suspension was met with mixed reviews. While some cheered the swift action against Kimmel, others showed up in large numbers to protest outside the studio where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is broadcast, as well as Disney Studios in Burbank and Disneyland in Anaheim. Others took to social media to announce they were boycotting ABC and canceling their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions. Many public figures voiced their support for Kimmel and his staff, with over 400 actors, musicians and directors signing an open letter with the ACLU calling out the decision to pull Kimmel’s show from the air as a violation of the First Amendment.
