By Lauren Burke
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has now broken a few records with his return to the air after doing battle with the Trump Administration.
The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live was removed from the air by ABC/Disney on September 17 after the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, said in a statement that Kimmel’s show had been indefinitely pulled off the air to “avoid escalating tensions during an ’emotional moment for our country”. The decision occurred after Kimmel commented on the suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk, which happened on Sept. 10 in Orem, Utah. But calls to boycott ABC and Disney were widely seen on social media. Though the precise number of cancelled Disney and HULU subscriptions is not known, there is a general estimate that the loss of subscribers was a factor in ABC’s decision to return Kimmel to the air.
Kimmel returned to his show on Tuesday, September 23rd. Even though the Sinclair-owned affiliate stations refused to run the show, Kimmel was seen by over 6 million viewers on Tuesday night. Additionally, the official YouTube channel for Kimmel’s show broke a record. The posting of his Tuesday night monologue now has over 14 million viewers in only 15 hours. The numbers represent a record for Kimmel, and the emotional monologue in which he talks about the importance of freedom of speech is likely to be viewed by millions more. This show “is not important,” Kimmel said on Tuesday night.
“What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” he added. Talking about President Trump, he added that, “he did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show.” The moment of Kimmel’s removal from the air has galvanized many entertainers in Hollywood just as it has caused pushback from elected officials on the left and right. The battle for media ownership and control is the deeper story regarding Kimmel’s removal and return, and what happens next as a result of the controversy is likely to have even deeper implications for freedom of speech in the U.S.
