The fallout over Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night suspension is far from over. On Monday, Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to the air on Tuesday night after being off the schedule for nearly a week. The show had been pulled indefinitely by Sinclair Broadcast Group, following criticism of Kimmel’s remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing, which sparked fierce backlash from political leaders and broadcast partners.
While Disney executives Bob Iger and Dana Walden signed off on bringing Kimmel back, Sinclair, one of the largest owners of ABC affiliates in the country, said it will not air the program on its stations. Instead, the company will fill the time slot with news programming.
“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,” the company said in a statement posted to X.
The announcement underscores the deep division sparked by Kimmel’s comments. His show was originally pulled after Nexstar Media Group, another major station owner, announced it would preempt the program and after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested that stations could face license scrutiny if they continued to broadcast Kimmel.
In the days since, Disney has faced widespread criticism from across the entertainment industry, with creative guilds, high-profile celebrities, and free-speech advocates accusing the company of capitulating to political pressure. More than 400 stars signed a letter through the ACLU condemning Kimmel’s suspension, and protests were staged outside Disney headquarters in Burbank and ABC offices in New York.
Disney’s reversal may bring Kimmel back to late-night, but Sinclair’s refusal highlights how fractured the broadcast landscape has become. For many ABC viewers, the comedian’s return remains uncertain.
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