Jimmy Kimmel defends his Charlie Kirk remarks

ABC's late-night host says his comments were 'maliciously mischaracterized.'

- BY MEG JAMES

JIMMY Kimmel, shown with Jodie Turner-Smith, said he didn't sense the initial fallout was “a big problem.”

(RANDY HOLMES Disney)

Jimmy Kimmel figured his ABC late-night show was toast during last month's firestorm over his comments after conservative activist Charlie Kirk's shooting.

"I said to my wife: 'That's it. It's over,'" Kimmel recalled Wednesday night at the Bloomberg Screentime media conference in Hollywood in a lengthy sit-down interview three weeks after the controversy.

The 57-year-old comedian has all along believed his statements about the Kirk shooting were misconstrued. But he recognized his show was in deep trouble Sept. 17 when his bosses benched him and two ABC affiliate station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, initially refused to air the program.

Kimmel provided fresh details about his dealings with Walt Disney Co. brass, his emotional hiatus and the late-night television business in the wake of rival CBS announcing it was canceling "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" next spring.

Kimmel declined to say whether he would extend his long ABC run when his contract is up in May, but he acknowledged an interest in producing other projects.

Kimmel's future was in doubt last month after his comments and the political backlash spawned boisterous protests that shone a light on 1st Amendment freedoms, the role of the Federal Communications Commission and the challenges facing Disney as it looks for a new leader to replace Chief Executive Bob Iger next year.