LOS ANGELES: Disney said “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return to its ABC network lineup on Tuesday, six days after it suspended the talk-show host following threats by the Federal Communications Commission chairman over comments the host had made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
In announcing the decision to bring Kimmel back to the airwaves, ABC’s parent company said it had suspended production of the show “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”
The Disney statement went on to say the company felt some of Kimmel’s comments in question “were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
However, after further discussions with the ABC late-night host, “we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Donald Trump has used his office and the courts to attack unflattering speech about him that he has called defamatory or false.
Throughout both his terms, Trump has threatened to rescind licenses for local broadcast affiliates of the national networks — licenses that are approved by the Federal Communications Commission, a nominally independent regulatory body.
Disney’s move signals the first big push back against the Trump administration by big media.
Disney shares closed down 1 percent. ABC suspended Kimmel’s late-night talk show on Wednesday after Carr threatened investigations and regulatory action against licensed broadcasters who aired Kimmel. The owners of dozens of local TV stations affiliated with ABC said they would no longer carry the show, including Nexstar, which needs FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
On Friday, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, a Republican, said Carr’s threat was dangerous.
