Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, and immediately set the tone with the line:
“I'm not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol. It's been overwhelming.”
He said the statement on the Jimmy Kimmel Live episode monologue dated September 23, 2025. The late-night host, back on air six days after a network suspension, used the moment to address his absence, the stations still preempting his show, and the fast-moving debate over Donald Trump’s Tylenol comments. Jimmy Kimmel explained that the monologue would mix jokes with straight talk about free expression, while the audience signaled a warm reception. At a White House event on September 22, 2025, Donald Trump said,
"Don’t take Tylenol,"
urging pregnant women to avoid acetaminophen and linking it to autism, a claim out of step with leading medical guidance.
What exactly was Jimmy Kimmel’s Tylenol joke, and Donald Trump's Tylenol comments
Jimmy Kimmel opened with the bit that set the agenda:
“I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol.”
Jimmy Kimmel said in the monologue,
“I'm not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol. 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."
He further added,
"Anyone I've ever met has reached out 10 or 11 times. Weird characters from my past, or the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle, not airing tonight by the way! Sorry Seattle, his name is Larry.”
Jimmy Kimmel then transitioned from the laugh line to the reason it landed: Donald Trump had just tied autism risk to acetaminophen use in pregnancy and urged women to avoid Tylenol, which Jimmy Kimmel used as a timely counterpoint to reset his show’s tone after a week off the air.
The remarks from Donald Trump came at a White House press conference in the Roosevelt Room on September 22, 2025, alongside senior health officials. The administration framed new cautionary steps on acetaminophen in pregnancy. Major medical groups pushed back the same day. Trump started the speech with,
"Today we're delighted to be joined by America's top medical and public health professionals as we announce historic steps to confront the crisis of autism."
He further added,
"Commonly known as Tylenol. During pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism. So taking Tylenol. Is uh not good or I'll say it, it's not good. For this reason, they are strongly recommended that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That's for instance in cases of extremely high fever."
Women’s health groups and researchers called the remarks irresponsible and stigmatizing. The Autism Science Foundation said the announcements promoted unproven claims, while large cohort studies have not shown a causal link between acetaminophen in pregnancy and autism.
The Jimmy Kimmel return episode taped and aired on September 23, 2025, at 11:35 p.m. ET. Jimmy Kimmel walked out to chants and delivered a monologue that blended jokes with a plain-spoken defense of free speech.
In the second act of that monologue, he raised the stakes from punchlines to principles, calling government pressure on broadcasters a red line. Jimmy Kimmel remarked,
“And worse than being thrown in prison, they know how lucky we are here. 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 until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American, and it is so dangerous.”
Jimmy Kimmel used a simple Tylenol gag to contextualize a larger battle over speech and science.
The road back: suspension, FCC blowback, and a partial blackout
Jimmy Kimmel was suspended on September 17 and reinstated on September 23 after internal discussions. However, major station groups continued to preempt the program on ABC affiliates, creating a national-return/local-patchwork split. Jimmy Kimmel’s return-night tone emphasised clarification and accountability around his earlier remarks while centering a free-expression case for satire on broadcast TV.
The distribution wrinkle mattered for viewers: many could watch Jimmy Kimmel Live as usual, but large footprints owned by Nexstar and Sinclair stuck with preemptions or replacement programming, limiting over-the-air access in dozens of markets even as the network resumed production.
Context on the regulatory noise: A phrase from the FCC chairman reverberated across the week. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the issue could be handled “the easy way or the hard way,” language he later characterized as hypothetical.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Jimmy Kimmel back stage during the the 96th Annual Academy Awards in Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)