Television host Jimmy Kimmel returned to U.S. late-night television on Tuesday defending political satire against what he said is Trump administration "bullying", six days after his on-air remarks about the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk led Walt Disney to suspend his show.
Disney's decision to cut short Kimmel's exile for comments it initially labelled as "ill-timed" and "insensitive" marked a high-profile act of corporate defiance in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating crackdown on perceived enemies in the media through litigation and regulatory threats.
In his first night back on air in nearly a week, Kimmel jockeyed between his brand of wry wit and a more sober, sensitive tone addressing the uproar his earlier commentary had unleashed.
"It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man," he said.
"I don't think there's anything funny about it," the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' host told viewers, his voice choking with emotion, moments after taking the stage to a standing ovation.
"Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual - that was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make," Kimmel, 57, added.
Disney, parent company of the ABC network that airs his show, halted its production on 17 September, two days after Kimmel said in his opening monologue that President Trump's supporters were eager to characterise Kirk's accused assassin "as anything other than one of them" and accused them of trying to "score political points" from his killing.
The Trump administration and many of its supporters voiced outrage at Kimmel's comments, which came five days after Kirk, a close Trump ally and radio-podcast host, was shot dead while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on the 10 September.
In response to Kimmel's remarks, Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Brendan Carr had threatened an investigation and urged television stations to drop Kimmel's show or face possible fines and revocation of their broadcast licenses.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said then.
Kimmel on Tuesday acknowledged several prominent conservatives who joined democrats in condemning the FCC for what they branded as attempts at government censorship.
He name-checked some prominent names of the political right as commentators Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens, as well as U.S. Republican Senators Mitch McConnel of Kentucky and Ted Crus of Texas, and added, "I want to thank the people who don't support my show and what I believe but support my right to share those beliefs anyway."
"I don't think I've ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right," Kimmel said to laughs.
Disney also faced pressure from consumers protesting Kimmel's suspension by cancelling their subscriptions to the Disney+ streaming channel.
Even though Disney has now brought Kimmel back to ABC's lineup, the two largest television station groups of ABC local affiliates - Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair - were still boycotting his show.
Before Tuesday's broadcast, Trump opined on his Truth Social online platform that he "can't believe" ABC gave Kimmel back his show, and hinted at further action against the network.
Kimmel said Trump was not just after comedians he disliked, but also journalists, saying of the Republican president, "He's suing them, he's bullying them."
Trump's previous lawsuits
ABC News agreed to donate $15 million to Trump's presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments anchor George Stephanopoulos made about the civil case brought against the president by writer E. Jean Carroll.
Paramount Global paid $16 million in July to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump claiming that the CBS News programme '60 Minutes' deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that the network broadcast in October.
The same month, Paramount announced it was cancelling 'The Late Show' hosted by comedian Stephen Colbert on CBS. The network said it was a business decision but critics widely saw it as part of a move to please Trump.
"I know that's not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it's so important to have a free press, and it is nuts we're not paying more attention to it," Kimmel said.
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