After 23 years, one joke would change everything. Jimmy Kimmel, American comedian and host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since 2003, recently came under fire for a comment made during a monologue on Sept. 15. Kimmel is known for being a democratic comedian, and many on both sides of the political spectrum considered what he said regarding political activist, Charlie Kirk, to have gone “too far.” But many others think the situation was greatly overblown, citing his tweet from the day the deadly shooting of Charlie Kirk occurred. 

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gag trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his Monday night monologue.

Two days after the monologue, FCC (Federal Communications Commission) chair Brendan Carr threatened ABC affiliates’ broadcast licensing for not taking action against Kimmel. Later that same day, Tuesday, Sept. 17, Disney-owned company ABC, notably an advocate for the left, announced that it had indefinitely pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air. 

This decision was immediately met with public outrage; thousands of people cancelled their Disney-owned Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, causing Disney’s stock to fall by 2.39% (4.99 billion USD in market value) between Sept. 17 and Sept. 23. 400 celebrities signed a letter condemning the decision through the American Civil Liberties Union, and other late-night show hosts pledged their support for Kimmel. Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Steph Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon all expressed both fear and disbelief over the situation. 

Aubrey Kerner, junior, became aware of the cancellation soon after it was announced. 

“I was pissed because [of] the free speech, freedom of press. I think some people got offended in the higher-ups and decided to use their power for the wrong stuff,” Kerner said.

On Tuesday, Sept. 23, Kimmel’s show returned. It was met with an audience of 6.2 million viewers, quadrupling its typical viewership. Although the show was brought back, not every channel chose to carry it, including Portland’s ABC affiliate KATU. As a result, many viewers flocked to YouTube to watch Kimmel’s returning monologue. At the 24-hour mark of the video’s posting, it had already gained 18 million views. 

While most seemed happy with both Kimmel’s return and returning monologue, there were still some who disagreed with ABC’s decision to reinstate his show. President Trump took to the social media site Truth Social to respond. “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.” 

Kimmel’s cancellation was met with an outcry for free speech, an inherent American value that many felt was threatened by ABC’s decision. Now that Kimmel’s show is back, the question of free speech remains. Kimmel’s return to television proves that the American people still care about what Late Night hosts have to say, and cements that free speech won’t go down without a fight.