Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel returned to air last night after his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, was pulled by ABC’s parent company, Disney, last week under pressure by the from the Trump Administration. In his opening monologue, he expressed deep gratitude for everyone, across the political spectrum and all walks of life, for the support.
Kimmel thanked his friends, late night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Conan O’Brien, and Jon Stewart, who used their platforms to call out Disney for suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live. He also thanked his viewers for being very vocal about the situation, as many canceled their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, causing the site to crash. But most of all, Kimmel thanked those who are not fans of his show, but still showed up for him. “Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” he said.
Some of the strongest support came from Kimmel’s fellow entertainers. Earlier this week, 400 actors, musicians, and directors co-signed an open letter by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), rallying people to stand up to government threats to freedom of speech. “Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country,” the letter reads.“In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.”
Among the co-signers were top figures such as Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Maya Rudolph, and Robert De Niro. Others are artists at the top of their game whose professional projects are produced by or attached to Disney. This includes Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Moana, Encanto), and Olivia Rodrigo, who boycotted a red carpet for the Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery documentary that is coming out on Hulu.
Though he received all this support, Kimmel made sure to point out that this wasn’t all about him; it’s more about protecting the First Amendment. “I don’t want to make this about me. 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.” Kimmel 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 until they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] 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.”
You can watch Kimmel’s monologue below, and read the ACLU’s vital letter here.
Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel returned to air after his show was pulled by ABC’s parent company, Disney, last week.
In his opening monologue, he thanked all the supporters across the political spectrum and all walks of life—including 400 entertainers who co-signed an open letter by the ACLU.
“Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” he said.
Watch the full monologue:
Jimmy Kimmel: Instagram
Sources: 400 entertainers co-sign ACLU letter supporting Jimmy Kimmel; Jimmy Kimmel Delivers Emotional, Resolute Monologue in First Show Back from Suspension
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