Jimmy Kimmel Thought His Show Would Never Return After Suspension: ‘I Said to My Wife, That’s It. It’s Over’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on November 18, In this image released on November 18, 2024, Jimmy Kimmel attends the 2024 Media Access Awards at AVALON Hollywood on October 29, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
In the hours after ABC benched “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and both the Sinclair and Nexstar affiliate groups said they would put the show on indefinite hiatus, Kimmel thought the show might be over for good. He figured that might be a real possibility after Sinclair shared a list of demands (including an apology) from Kimmel before it would reinstate his show.
“Tthe idea that I would not have 40 affiliates, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it.’ Because there seemed to be a list of demands presented to me and I was not going to go along with any of them,” he told the audience Wednesday at the Bloomberg Screentime event in Hollywood. “So it’s was like, ‘well, I guess we’re done.’ I said to my wife, ‘that’s it. It’s over.’”
Ultimately, Kimmel was back on air — and he believes his return to TV after a brief suspension “probably went about as good as it could go.” Most importantly, he said he wanted the opportunity to explain what he was trying to say after “It was intentionally, and I think, maliciously, mischaracterized.”
Kimmel’s Bloomberg Screentime appearance marked the first time he answered questions from a reporter about last month’s kerfuffle, when he was pulled off the air for several days by ABC and pre-empted by Nexstar and Sinclair ABC affils.
Describing how he prepared for that return episode on Sept 23, “it was something really that had to come from inside me,” he said. “It had to be truthful, and I had to lay it all out there and just be honest about what I was feeling and what I’d experienced. And I think I did. I knew that it wasn’t going to be perfect. There were always going to be people that didn’t like it and didn’t accept it, but the important thing to me was that I was able to explain what I was saying, what I was trying to say.”
Asked about his talks with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden in the immediate aftermath, KImmel characterized them as “really good conversations. These are people that I’ve known for a long time, and who I like very much. We all wanted this to work out best. And I will tell you, first of all, I ruined Dana’s weekend. It was just non stop phone calls all weekend.”
Kimmel gave Walden credit for his return: “I don’t think what I don’t think the result, which I think turned out to be very positive, would have been as positive if I hadn’t talked to Dana as much as I did. Because it helped me think everything through, and it helped me just kind of understand where everyone was coming from. I can sometimes be reactionary. I can sometimes be aggressive. And I could sometimes be unpleasant. I think really having those days to think about it was helpful.”
Later, he was asked if he had a pick for Iger’s successor as Disney CEO. Kimmel didn’t want to play favorites, but given his close relationship with Walden and how she helped him navigate the events of the past month, he noted “I happen to love Dana Walden very much, and I think she’s done a great job. And I think what has happened over the last like three weeks, I think was very unfair to my bosses at Disney. I don’t think anyone should ever be put in a position like this, it is insane, and I hope that we drew a really, really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept.”
Kimmel was benched for three nights by ABC after Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened to punish the network over comments the host made in a monologue. Carr lashed out at Disney after Kimmel noted that the right wing was trying to “characterize the kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” In particular, on a right-wing podcast prior to Kimmel’s benching, Carr threatened to investigate ABC affiliates unless they took Kimmel off the air, implying the FCC could pull their broadcast licenses.
Asked when he realized that there might be a problem, “I didn’t think there was a big problem” at first, Kimmel said. “I saw it as distortion on the part of some of the right wing media networks, and I aimed to correct it. I have problems. all the time and it’s kind of funny, because sometimes you think, ‘oh this is not a problem’ and then it turns into a big problem, and then sometimes it goes the other way.”
Nexstar and Sinclair yanked Kimmel off their ABC stations after Carr’s comments, forcing Disney to put “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on pause. But that turned the controversy into a lightning rod for free speech, giving Kimmel an opening to come roaring back on Sept. 23, averaging 6.3 million viewers — its most-watched regularly scheduled episode ever, despite not airing in 23% of U.S. households. By the end of the week Nexstar and Sinclair had restored the show as well.
More recently, Carr has agreed to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee to testify about the events that led to ABC’s temporary suspension of Kimmel.
Earlier at the Bloomberg event, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also celebrated the quick return of Kimmel. “People got activated and demanded that Jimmy Kimmel come back on the air. And I think that that was a great victory,” she said. “So sometimes, when you’re struggling and you’re going through all these changes, it’s important to realize Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the back on the air was a victory for all of us.”
Beyond discussion of the recent news, Kimmel was also asked to elaborate on his previous comments to Variety that he didn’t think CBS was truthful when it said “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was canceled because it was losing $40 million a year.
“I know what the budgets for these shows are,” Kimmel said, pegging them at around $100 million to $120 million a year. “I know what I make. I know what Stephen makes. I know what the ad sales people make. I know that there are values that nobody bothers to consider, like the affiliate fees that have to account for a portion of that… I’s not $40 million. Is the show losing money? That I don’t know. I can’t imagine it’s losing a lot of money if it is.”
Asked about his latest feeling on when “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” might end, he repeated his assertion that “I often answer that question, and then I do the opposite of what I said. I previously said, ‘this is going to be like my last one,’ the last three contracts. So I’ve learned not to say anything anymore, because it upsets my staff. It’s best that when I make a decision, I will make that decision.”
As for his conversation on air this week with comedian Aziz Ansari about Ansari’s decision to perform at the controversial Riyadh comedy festival in Saudi Arabia, Kimmel said the two of them agreed to talk about the hot button subject beforehand.
“I wouldn’t have gone, but I wanted to hear his reasons, and I thought he had some compelling reasons,” Kimmel said. “Nothing’s black and white. It’s not something I would do. But I do understand the idea that if we close ourselves off to the world, or we isolate somebody, that maybe it’s not good. I don’t know that my reasoning is the correct reasoning. Also, we see it happening in this country too. I mean, we travel abroad. Many of us don’t want to be held accountable for what our president does and says. As an American going someplace, I’m fortunate enough to be well known, and people know where I’m coming from. But I think it would be a different situation if people didn’t know who I was. I think probably the first thing I’d say as I got into every cab is, ‘I didn’t vote for him, just FYI!’ I do think that kind of makes me understand his position better.”
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