Jimmy Kimmel Could Be Set To Return To Late Night, But Disney Reportedly Wants Him To Tone Down His Political Commentary

Could Jimmy Kimmel and his late night program, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, be coming back sooner rather than later?

Last week, Disney, ABC and the FCC dominated the news when the Federal Communication Commission pushed the network owned by the “House of Mouse” to suspend Jimmy Kimmel and pull his show off the air. ABC obliged, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken off the air indefinitely after the late-night host made some ill-advised comments surrounding the death of Charlie Kirk.

Here is the segment that “went too far” in the eyes of the FCC. It mainly had to do with Kimmel spreading false information about the person who assassinated Kirk:

To put this into sports terms, that’s a “play on” to me. Don’t believe that there’s enough there to warrant the blow of the whistle (A.K.A. pull the show off the air).

That being said, there were plenty of stars, celebrities, and politicians that voiced their displeasure with Kimmel’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s death that ultimately caused Disney and ABC to pull the plug (for now) on the show. Many believe that the network pulling Kimmel’s show – either temporarily or forever – is a good idea.

On the flip side, fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jon Stewart dedicated some/all of their shows to calling out what they believe to be the government silencing the media through the FCC. Others have argued that Kimmel being taken off the air for something that he said is a violation of the first amendment, which protects free speech.

We found out not long after ABC pulled the show from its lineup that Kimmel was planning to address the backlash on his show, but never got the chance to, according to Bloomberg:

“Kimmel still planned to address the issue on his show, but Disney worried his remarks would further inflame the situation. Walden appealed to Kimmel to adjust his remarks before the show taped on Wednesday. When the two couldn’t agree on a path forward, she made the decision to yank the show after consulting Iger.”

Now, it’s being reported that Kimmel and executives at Walt Disney and ABC met late last week to try and figure out a path back to Jimmy Kimmel Live! airing on television. They are expected to meet again early this week to explore a path forward, and Disney has allegedly already been talking to local TV stations as well as other media groups about carrying the program if and when it came back.

Bloomberg also reported that Disney is adamant about returning Kimmel to late night, but they’ve evidently asked him to tone down his political commentary:

“Disney wants Kimmel back on the air. But Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and entertainment head Dana Walden have also asked him to tone down his political rhetoric. Kimmel won’t apologize, nor does he want to be muzzled or censored. He also doesn’t want to put 200 employees out of work or give Trump a scalp.”

So all in all, it certainly seems like Jimmy Kimmel Live! could be back on television after a brief hiatus. The only issue? Kimmel and Disney have to come to an agreement on what that return looks like, and it sounds as though the late night host won’t be apologizing or bending the knee to his higher-ups.The post Jimmy Kimmel Could Be Set To Return To Late Night, But Disney Reportedly Wants Him To Tone Down His Political Commentary first appeared on Whiskey Riff.