Jay Leno Defends Jimmy Kimmel, Says He'll Be Back On the Air 'Somewhere'

Jay Leno's not too worried about Jimmy Kimmel after 'Live!' was suspended indefinitely by ABC over his comments about Charlie Kirk's murder ... telling TMZ he'll be back on air "somewhere."

Check out the clip ... he was seen out in Los Angeles over the weekend, and while he played hard to get at first ... he eventually said he stands by Jimmy and says he'll certainly find a place back on our screens at some point, "somewhere."

Jay also brushes off the backlash Jimmy's getting for comments about the man accused of killing Charlie being conservative, explaining Kimmel didn't say anything that hadn't already been said.

As for his thoughts on whether Jimmy should walk away from his late-night TV show, JL said that decision is solely his.

As you know, ABC yanked 'Live!' off the air after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to "take action" against the network for Jimmy's comments.

Since then, many big players in Hollywood -- including Jimmy's fellow late-night hosts -- have stood up for him, including Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Jimmy has stayed publicly silent about the situation, though we saw him smiling out in L.A. the day after the debacle went down.