Jimmy Kimmel's show coming back to ABC after suspension

Disney's move had sparked loud protests calling for protection of free speech.

- BY MEG JAMES AND STEPHEN BATTAGLIO

ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times

EDDIE Patino holds a protest sign on Monday outside the El Capitan Theatre.

Walt Disney Co. will bring Jimmy Kimmel back to ABC on Tuesday night, reversing its suspension of the late-night talk show after the host’s comments about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk set off a political firestorm.

“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” the company said Monday in a statement. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”

“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”

Kimmel's representatives declined to comment.

The breakthrough came as Disney faced withering pressure on multiple fronts.

Protests grew loud and some consumers, including radio personality Howard Stern, announced they had canceled their Disney+ subscriptions to lodge their dismay. More than 400 celebrities, including such Disney talent as Selena Gomez, Martin Short, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kerry Washington and Lin-Manuel Miranda, signed an open letter decrying attempts at government censorship, which “strike at from A1]the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”

A NEWS conference Monday outside the El Capitan Theatre denounced the censorship of Jimmy Kimmel after remarks he made on air.

(ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times)

The Kimmel suspension put Disney executives, including Chief Executive Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden, in the center of the nation’s debate over free speech.