Whoopi Goldberg Has Passionate Reaction to Jimmy Kimmel's Monologue Following Suspension

At the top of the show on Wednesday morning, Whoopi Goldberg noted there was "a lot of anticipation" ahead of Kimmel's Jimmy Kimmel Live! return -- after he was suspended by ABC for comments he made on the show about the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk. Get a full breakdown of his first show back here.

"He hit everything perfectly. I think he touched on the most important parts -- the protection of freedom of speech -- but he also so emotionally recognized that his intention was never to mock a murder," said Sara Haines after they played some of his monologue for the studio audience.

"Comedians are here to remind us that we need to hold governments accountable, we need to be able to be equal-opportunity offenders, we're trying to make people laugh," she added. "I love that he really took time to say thank you to those people who disagree with me."

For comedian Joy Behar, she said it was common for "dictators" to "go after comedians" because, in her mind, they "tell the truth, make you laugh and it resonates with you."

"And they do not like that. They call themselves strongmen, but they are actually very weak men because they can't take a joke," she continued. "Throughout history, presidents have been mocked in this country and it's always been a great thing about this country. They're very threatened by people who are funny and they will always go first after the comedians."

The more right-leaning Alyssa Farah Griffin also found much to support in Kimmel's monologue, praising him for making it "bigger than himself" by saying, "The show is not important, what is important is that we live in a country that allows us to have a show like this." She appreciated how he brought up the rest of his staff, other late night hosts and free speech in general, making it about more than just his job.

"I thought that was big of him to realize that he's a symbol of a struggle going on, but speak to the broader moment," she shared. "People who are not fans, necessarily, of Kimmel's ... they get that the way to counter speech you don't like is with more speech."

Griffin and Haines also thought it was "so powerful" of Kimmel to address Erika Kirk's remarks from the memorial, choking up as he said others should follow her lead in forgiveness. Whoopi then brought the discussion home, going into her own mini-speech about freedom of speech and why having it makes her so "proud to be an American."

"The thing is, it doesn't matter whether you're a comedian or just a regular old person who goes about their [life], you have every right, it's your birthright as an American. If you're not happy with what's going on, you're allowed to say it," she said.

"That's part of what makes you an American. It's part of what makes us different from everybody else. And we acknowledged all of those Republicans who recognize that it's not a right or left right, it is the right of all Americans," Goldberg continued. "So if it goes for us on the left or the middle, it also goes for you on the right."

"We want to make sure everybody can still say and be who they want to be. That's why people still want to come to this country, because we offer rights to people that many people don't get in other countries," she added. "There is a great pride to still have in America, in spite of what you saw at the UN yesterday, there is a great right to being an American. We are proud to be American, we are proud to do what we do, and we're proud that you all continue to watch us, whether you like what we're saying or not. We appreciate you."

While she's no longer on the show, former View cohost Meghan McCain also briefly reacted to Kimmel's monologue on her Citizen McCain podcast on Wednesday.

"I think that what he said about Charlie Kirk and accusing MAGA of being responsible, the shooting being MAGA, was abhorrent and insane," she said, despite Kimmel insisting that's not what he meant in his speech.

"I don't believe that he has friends on the other side. I just don't," she added, after Kimmel said he has "many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to even though we don't agree on politics at all."

"I worked at ABC a long time and The View is technically under News and his is Entertainment, but I know what the culture at the company is like," she added. "There was not one Republican in the entire ABC sphere who could work with me, so much that I had to hire someone outside ... because they could not find one."

From there, guest Michael Knowles took over the conversation.

See more reactions to Kimmel's return in the gallery below.