Jimmy Kimmel Sheds Tears, Reminds Audience ‘What’s Important’ in Late-Night Return

A defiant, emotional and grateful Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night TV Tuesday, following his suspension by ABC.

After walking on stage to a standing ovation, Kimmel clasped his hands, smiled and expressed gratitude while the in-studio audience chanted “Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy!”

“Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted,” the comedian said at the start of his monologue.

Kimmel shared “everyone I have ever met” reached out to offer support, after ABC and parent company Disney suspended his show “indefinitely” on Sept. 17, for comments he made two days earlier about the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Related: ‘The View’ Hosts Address Jimmy Kimmel Suspension

He praised his fellow late-night show hosts — past and present — for contacting him during the suspension and said a comic in Germany even offered him a job.

“Can you imagine? This country has become so authoritarian that the Germans are like, ‘Come here!'” he quipped.

The comedian praised people across the country for speaking up and defending free speech — by protesting and canceling streaming subscriptions — when his show was taken off the air.

While he did not apologize for what he said on the show’s Sept. 15 episode, Kimmel did admit he has regrets.

“It was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man,” he said through tears. After pausing for a few seconds, he regained his composure and praised Kirk’s widow, Erika.

“I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion and I meant it. I still do,” Kimmel said. “But I understand that to some it 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, there’s a good chance I would have felt the same way.”

He thanked Disney for bringing his show back, and admitted the program is only “a tiny part of the Disney Corporation.”

“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 explained.

Before Trump returned to the White House earlier this year, Kimmel said he took free speech “for granted.” Then his friend Stephen Colbert’s late-night CBS show was canceled, and his own program came under attack.

“I’ve 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,” he said. “Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country, and that’s something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted.”

He criticized the Trump administration for trying to “coerce affiliates” that air Jimmy Kimmy Live! to stop running the show, and called the government’s actions “un-American.”

The episode did not air on ABC stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting or Nexstar Media group, including affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Seattle. Still, millions watched the  monologue on YouTube.

Kimmel took swipes at FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and President Donald Trump. The production team rolled a clip of Trump gloating about the comedian being “fired.”

“The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs,” Kimmel said. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”

Trump told a reporter in the video, “anybody” could replace Kimmel because he has “no talent” is “a whack job,” and gets “no ratings.”

“Well, I do tonight!” Kimmel said defiantly.

Outside his studio on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, people who were in the audience spoke with reporters.

Longtime Kimmel fan Kathy Hopkins said the atmosphere in the studio felt communal, yet Kimmel’s message was grave.

“I’ve been to the show before and this was vastly different,” Hopkins told Urban Hollywood 411. “There was lots of love, there was a lot of gravity in there… But also, we are all just thrilled to have him back.”

Audience member Malynda Hale said she pulled a few strings to get tickets. Her father previously worked security on the show for ten years, and he reached out on her behalf to Kimmel’s sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez for tickets.

A beaming Hale called the episode “historical.”

“Jimmy’s monologue was very emotional, heartfelt, and it was nice to hear him speak again,” she said. “It was a big celebration of him, honestly.”