‘Never my intention to make light’ of Kirk murder

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to air with an emotional monologue Tuesday night, roughly one week after the late night show was suspended by Disney’s ABC broadcast network.

The program was initially pulled “indefinitely” following comments by host Kimmel during a show monologue that criticized members of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement for their reaction to conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.

“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said Tuesday, getting choked up. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”

Kimmel went on: “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. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, it’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”

The comedian’s pre-taped monologue marked the first time he had publicly addressed the matter.

“I’m happy to be here tonight,” Kimmel said to massive applause from the audience. “It’s been overwhelming. I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people in the world over the last six days. Everyone I have ever met has reached out 10 or 11 times.”

Earlier Tuesday, Kimmel’s show posted a photo to Instagram with the caption, “We are back full of love.” Kimmel’s personal account posted a photo of the host with the late screenwriter Norman Lear, who in 1981 founded People For The American Way, an organization dedicated to First Amendment rights.

Kimmel touched on free speech protections Tuesday during his remarks.

“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” he said. “I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East, who told me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power … They know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country.”

Audience members leaving the taping described the monologue as “emotional” and described a warm reception from fans.

“It was just standing ovation after standing ovation,” said Veronica Ament of Fresno, California, who secured her tickets for the taping weeks ago. “My voice is almost gone.”

Disney said in a statement Monday it made the decision to suspend production of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following comments that were “ill-timed and thus insensitive.”

Those comments came during Kimmel’s monologue last Monday, in reference to Tyler Robinson, who is charged with fatally shooting Kirk on Sept. 10. Kimmel said then the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

“In between the finger-pointing there was grieving. On Friday the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this,” he continued, teeing up a clip of Trump on the White House lawn in which the president fields a question on Kirk but swiftly pivots to talking about construction.

Kimmel’s suspension came amid statements from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr that suggested ABC and its affiliate stations could be at risk of losing broadcast licenses over the comments.

Local station owners Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair both said they would preempt the show’s return on Tuesday, meaning many markets across the country were not able to watch the program through local channels. Together, the two companies own roughly 70 ABC affiliate stations.

“We are still on the air in most of the country, except, ironically, from Washington, D.C., where we have been preempted,” Kimmel said after a commercial break. “After almost 23 years on the air, we’re suddenly not being broadcast in 20% of the country, which is not a situation we relish.”

Kimmel was then joined via video by famed actor Robert De Niro, who was portraying an aggressive FCC chair.

Kimmel, ABC and Disney are the latest targets of Trump and his administration’s scrutiny of media companies, which has intensified during his second term marked by high-profile defamation lawsuits, the defunding of public broadcasters and regulatory interference from the FCC.

Trump posted to his Truth Social platform late Tuesday railing against Kimmel and saying his administration would “test ABC out on this.”

“Let’s see how we do,” Trump said. “Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”

In December, ABC agreed to pay $16 million — $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library and $1 million in legal fees — to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump alleging anchor George Stephanopoulos made an inaccurate on-air assertion that the then-president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump had been found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll. Trump denies Carroll’s claims that he attacked her.

Kimmel on Tuesday rallied his audience to continue to speak out against attacks on journalists by the Trump administration.

“It’s so important to have a free press, and it is nuts that we aren’t paying more attention to it,” he said.

Ahead of the Tuesday’s show taping, protesters and supporters appeared outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood.

“He should be off the air for another full week if not a full month to think about what he said,” Perry Caravello, a YouTuber who was protesting Kimmel’s return to air, told CNBC outside the studio Tuesday prior to the taping.

Meanwhile, Gregg Donovan, who donned a black top hat and red blazer, carried a laminated sign welcoming Kimmel back.

“This is America,” he said. “I don’t think free speech will ever really be threatened.” 

Kimmel’s show is filmed at the El Capitan Entertainment Centre on Hollywood Boulevard, across from the iconic TCL Chinese Theater. The Hollywood Walk of Fame takes up the sidewalk outside Kimmel’s venue, with names as diverse as Roy Disney, Eva Longoria, Kelly Ripa, Paul Rudd and Chris Pratt decorating the pavement.

— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo and Sara Salinas contributed to this report.