Jimmy Kimmel Praises Erika Kirk, Thanks Ted Cruz and Bipartisan Support in Emotional Return

He also thanked supporters from both sides of the aisle for reaching out during his hiatus, and for championing his right to say what he says on the airwaves, even if they don't necessarily agree with him. But not everyone on the right was happy to have him back on television.

Kimmel made a point of noting that President Trump had not yet weighed in on his return at the time of his taping, but Trump definitely made his displeasure known on Truth Social later in the day. Trump went so far as to threaten to sue ABC over Kimmel's return, posting on his Truth Social platform, "I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. "The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!" He added that "something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his 'talent' was never there."

"Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who's not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major illegal Campaign Contribution."

"I think we're going to test ABC out on this," he added. "Let's see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings."

While Kimmel's team had not yet seen Trump's response, he did anticipate it when he gave ABC and Disney credit for allowing him back on the air, something he emphasized they were under no obligation to do.

Kimmel said in his monologue of letting him back on his show, "Unfortunately, and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk. The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can't take a joke."

"He was somehow able to squeeze Colbert out of CBS. Then he turned his sights on me, and now he's openly rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don't make millions of dollars," Kimmel continued. "And I hope that if that happens or if there's even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week. We have to speak out against this because he's not stopping."

Kimmel also laughed in advance of Trump constantly complaining about his ratings -- again, before Trump's statement came out -- saying, "You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now."

Other celebrities and public figures on the right also blasted Kimmel's opening monologue -- and his return in general -- saying that it wasn't enough. Saturday Night Live alum Rob Schneider accused him of lying "again" on Tuesday's show.

"In your semi-apology tonight, you LIED AGAIN," he posted to X. "You were not making 'light' of Mr. Kirk’s death. The suspension you justly received last week was for FALSELY ACCUSING, MAGA and Republicans 'one of their own' you said, for the murder of our friend Charlie Kirk when it was in fact just another in the long line of Murderous Leftist Lunatics who killed Charlie, who get their inspiration to kill from YOUR DANGEROUS LEFTIST RHETORIC."

"You and your other Late Night Host’s and the other illiberal media’s constant propagandizing and demonizing fellow Americans as fascists and Nazis have created the atmosphere where Leftists feel that killing people who think differently is justified," he continued. "And you were NOT even telling it in the form of joke either. You liar."

"Even your own ABC affiliates are bored and sickened by your constant political indoctrination by comedic imposition and refuse to air your show. Free Speech is indeed all speech. We must even protect the speech that we loathe," Schneider added. "Well, most Americans are decent God fearing people and we loathe your speech but will continue to support your right to speak it freely. But we don’t have to watch. And we won’t." He then closed, "Signed, America."

Andrew Kolvet, spokesperson for Turning Point USA and executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show also felt that Kimmel's monologue missed the mark. "Not good enough. Jimmy, it’s simple," he posted to X. "Here’s what you need to say: 'I’m sorry for saying the shooter was MAGA. He was not. He was of the left. I apologize to the Kirk family for lying. Please accept my sincere apology. I will do better. I was wrong.'"

Kimmel did offer clarifying words to his original comments on Tuesday night. "It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don't think there's anything funny about it," he said early in his monologue. "I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion -- and I meant it; I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what -- it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make."

He went on to acknowledge that he understands "that to some, that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset. If the situation was reversed, there's a good chance I'd have felt the same way."

In the initial monologue that triggered his suspension, Kimmel had said, "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

Kimmel's latest monologue did get words of support from some on the left, including director Jon Favreau, who shared video of it to X and wrote, "This was outstanding. Do yourself a favor and watch it -- especially if you don't like Kimmel." Ben Stiller also shared his praise, writing, "What a brilliant monologue from Jimmy Kimmel." Keith Olbermann went so far as to call it "the best apology I've ever seen."

Kimmel quipped at the top of the show, "As I was saying before I was interrupted." He went on to say that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was "preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report. I'm happy to be here tonight with you. I'm not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol."

The comedian went on to thank all of those who'd reached out and supported him from his past, from the public, and from both sides of the aisle, including Senator Ted Cruz, who came out passionately against FCC chair Brendan Carr seemingly putting pressure on affiliates and ABC about Kimmel's show. " I don't think I've ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right," Kimmel said. "He's absolutely right. This affects all of us, including him. I mean, think about it. If Ted Cruz can't speak freely, then he can't cast spells on the Smurfs."

"Even though I don't agree with many of those people on most subjects, some of the things they say even make me want to throw up, it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did, and they deserve credit for it," Kimmel added. "And thanks for telling their followers that our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television, and that we have to stand up to it."

He went on to talk about the importance of free speech, not just for comedians but for the media, as well. "They want to pick and choose what the news is. I know that's not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it's so important to have a free press, and it is nuts that we aren't paying more attention to it. Walter Cronkite must be spinning in his grave right now," he said.

He closed with a message of solidarity, saying that seeing the left and right come together for his right to free speech has given him hope that Americans can see beyond those in power trying to further divide them, saying, "Maybe the silver lining from this is that we found one thing we can agree on, and maybe we'll even find another one. Maybe we can get a little bit closer together."

"We do agree on a lot of things. We agree on keeping our children safe from guns, on reproductive rights for women, social security, affordable health care, pediatric cancer research. These are all things that most Americans support," he added. "Let's stop letting these politicians tell us what they want and tell them what we want."

He said that the example everyone should follow was presented by Erika Kirk over the weekend at Charlie Kirk's memorial service: "Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was. That's it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow."

"It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many, and if there's anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that and not this," he concluded.