KIMMEL IN THE KENNEL

By Lauren Law Nov. 12, 2025

Mingyue Xiao Art

Spanning 22 years and over 3,000 episodes, American late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”  averaged 1.7 million viewers and featured thousands of actors, musicians, athletes and other public figures—until it was pulled off the air indefinitely. 

Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show career began in 1999 when he  cohosted “The Man Show,” a show aimed at young male audiences and featuring celebrity interviews, comedy sketches and political satire. Later on, Kimmel was selected to host “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in order to fill ABC network’s 12:05 a.m. slot. The show first debuted in 2003, but initially suffered from low ratings. However, Kimmel seeked to differentiate himself from other late night hosts with Letterman and Jay Leno.

From Sept. 17-22, ABC and its corporate parent Walt Disney Company suspended production of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” due to controversial comments Kimmel made regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. According to BBC, he criticized the reactions from President Donald Trump and his supporters and suggested they were attempting to politicize the event, resulting in backlash from conservative media and political figures. 

Following a six day suspension, ABC reinstated “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Sept. 23. The decision to bring the show back was influenced by public outcry, including protests and boycotts against Disney and ABC. Upon his return, Kimmel stated that his remark had been maliciously mischaracterized, emphasizing that he never intended to ridicule Kirk’s death and defending the role of political satire in American culture. 

“When I heard the show was taken off the air, I was shocked. Jimmy has the right to free speech, and removing his platform felt like a violation of that,” Sophomore Sheena Kamali said. 

Upon the reinstatement of Kimmel’s show, Trump criticized him on Truth Social, expressing disbelief that “ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back” and claiming that “his audience is GONE, and his 'talent' was never there,” per USA Today. He suggested pursuing legal action, remarking how last time he took action against ABC, they gave him $16 million. Some right-wing figures such as Greg Gutfeld and Matt Walsh supported Trump, viewing the suspension as a necessary punishment for Kimmel’s remarks on Kirk. 

However, this perspective was in the minority compared to broader public outrage. The Guardian stated that Kimmel's return on the 23rd became the most watched monologue in the show’s history: the show’s viewership exploded with over 15 million views on YouTube within 16 hours. Shortly following his return, the show averaged 2.2 million viewers—a 35% increase compared to 2022. 

The suspension has raised concerns regarding government influence over media content. Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, has been a vocal advocate for regulating media content that he perceives as biased against conservatives. His threats to revoke broadcast licenses of networks critical of the administration have intensified debates about the role of government in media censorship. 

“It has become too normalized to exploit the media to gain political influence when the point of spaces like talk shows, podcasts and social media is to give people a voice and perspective. Although it was a private company’s decision, it is impossible to isolate this incident from the current sociopolitical atmosphere and the amount of tension surrounding freedom of speech today,” Senior Ellisa Kim said. 

The First Amendment of The U.S. Constitution prohibits government interference with freedom of speech—however, the suspension of Kimmel’s show raises viewers’ concerns about the intersection between corporate decision-making and public policy. While networks like ABC have the legal authority to determine their content, the insertions of political figures highlights ongoing fears regarding how free speech protections apply within media and corporate contexts.

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About the Contributors

Lauren Law

Staff Writer

Lauren Law is a senior at Leland High School and this is her second year as a staff writer. She enjoys hanging out with friends, sleeping, and eating.

Mingyue Xiao

Artist