"He better not apologize": Fans elated as Disney announces Jimmy Kimmel Live's return to ABC on Tuesday

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will air again from September 23, 2025. The latest update arrives after the show was preempted last week for Kimmel’s monologue addressing Charlie Kirk and the murder suspect, Tyler Robinson.

While speaking to USA Today on Monday, September 22, Disney referred to the decision to suspend the show after Kimmel’s monologue received heavy criticism on social media.

The company said that the production came to a halt as they were trying to avoid creating a “tense situation” at a time when the entire country was mourning.

“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday”, Disney said.

As of this writing, Jimmy Kimmel has not spoken of anything related to his show being preempted, followed by its recent return.

Notably, the decision to pull the show off-air was first revealed by ABC affiliate Nexstar in a statement, saying that they have a strong objection to the words used by Kimmel in his monologue.

Meanwhile, netizens took to the comments section of a post shared by Pop Crave on X to share their reactions to the show’s return. One of them advised Jimmy Kimmel not to apologize for everything that happened.

“He better not apologize cause he did nothing wrong”, @suayrez wrote.

A user wrote that no one would notice in case Kimmel’s show does not return despite being confirmed by ABC and Disney.

“If they just say he’s back and then don’t actually put him back on, I doubt anyone would notice”, @GFRobot commented.

A few people claimed that the show was returning since Disney suffered losses.

“Because Disney lost so much money from the boycotts”, @EternalXshine said on X.

“All those cancellations had Disney thinking twice. They need to go play with somebody safer”, @DeedeeTheLeo wrote.

Another individual reacted by writing that although everyone loves Jimmy Kimmel, people won’t subscribe to the streaming services of Disney.

“We love Jimmy [heart emoji]. But we are not re-subscribing to the streaming services that the spineless Walt Disney Company owns”, @MrPopOfficial stated.

Sinclair stations will replace the airing of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The episode with Kimmel’s monologue about Charlie Kirk originally aired last week on Monday, September 15. After Nexstar announced to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the president of their broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, described the comedian’s comments as “offensive and insensitive.”

While Disney has confirmed the return of the show, ABC affiliate Sinclair Inc. confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the show will not air on their respective stations. They addressed the same by saying:

“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”

Around two days after the episode aired, Sinclair said in a press release that a special will air in memory of Charlie Kirk on September 19, 2025.

Furthermore, the company was seeking an apology from Kimmel to Kirk’s family alongside a donation to Charlie’s organization, Turning Point USA.