Jimmy Kimmel breaks silence after suspension
“As I was saying before I was interrupted…”
This is how Jimmy Kimmel opened his show last night, returning to the air after a week-long suspension imposed by ABC, CE Report quotes ANSA.
At the center of a heated debate on freedom of speech in the US during the second Trump era, the comedian candidly addressed the controversy that engulfed his program following a comment about the identity and motives of the alleged assassin of pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk.
Upon entering the studio in the theater on Hollywood Boulevard bearing his name, the audience greeted him with several minutes of applause and chants of "Jimmy."
Kimmel, who has hosted the Oscars four times and the Emmys three times, perhaps never had a monologue awaited with such anticipation.
“I don’t know who had 48 stranger hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol. It was overwhelming,” he began, breaking his silence for the first time.
“Our government shouldn’t have the power to control what we say or don’t say on television, and we must defend this principle. I’ve thought a lot about what to say tonight and the truth is I don’t believe my words will make much difference: if you like me, you like me; if not, you don’t. I’m not here to change anyone’s opinion. But there’s one thing I want to clarify: I care as a human being. I want you to understand it was never my intention to joke about the murder of a young man.”
With a broken voice, he continued: “It was never my intention to blame a specific group for the actions of a clearly unstable individual. I was actually trying to do the opposite. But I understand that some were offended, or misunderstood, or both. And to those who felt targeted, I say: I understand your anger. If the roles were reversed, I would feel the same way.”
He clarified: “I don’t believe Kirk’s assassin represented anyone. He was a sick person who thought violence was the answer, and it never is.”
Kimmel thanked the audience and fellow late-night hosts who supported him: “I even heard hosts from other countries, from Ireland and Germany. The one in Germany offered me a job. Can you imagine? This country has become so authoritarian that even the Germans say: ‘Come here.’”
He added: “I don’t want to make this personal. This show isn’t important. What matters is living in a country that allows us to have a show like this. That’s why—quoting some voices from the right who defended me—I want to thank those who don’t appreciate my show or my ideas but still defended my right to express them. I never imagined Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, and even my old friend Ted Cruz would say such nice things about me. It takes courage to speak out against this administration. They did it and deserve recognition.”
“Freedom of speech is the thing this country admires most, and it’s something I’m ashamed to say I took for granted until they fired my friend Stephen and forced the stations broadcasting our show locally to cancel it. It’s not legal. It’s not American. It’s anti-American,” Kimmel said before concluding with a reference to President Trump: “He tried everything to cancel me. Instead, he made millions watch my show. Now maybe you’ll have to publish the Epstein files to distract the public!”
