ABC, Disney reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! after six-day suspension

ABC and Disney reversed course and reinstated Jimmy Kimmel’s late night program on Tuesday, six days after pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the schedule amid an uproar over the host’s on‑air comments about the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The suspension, announced Sept. 17, provoked a national debate over free speech, corporate pressure and the role of the Federal Communications Commission, and left parts of the country unable to view the show because some local affiliates refused to air it.

The controversy began after Kimmel’s Sept. 15 monologue, in which he said right‑wing supporters were trying to frame the 22‑year‑old suspect in Kirk’s killing as something other than one of them. Tyler Robinson later was arrested and charged with aggravated murder and other offenses. FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly condemned Kimmel’s remarks and urged ABC to take action. Two major station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, then told ABC they intended to preempt the program on their affiliates, prompting Disney to suspend production, the company said, to avoid further inflaming a tense situation.

Disney said in a statement that the decision to pause...