Disney confirms Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return after controversial suspension

Disney have announced Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was pulled from the air last week following threats from US government officials over Kimmel's commentary, will return tonight.

"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country," said Disney, which owns the show's host network ABC, in a statement last night.

"It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."

However, two major network operators Sinclair and NexStar — which control about 20% of all ABC affiliate channels combined — say they will not air the show.

"Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming," said Sinclair, which owns 38 ABC affiliate stations, in a statement.

"Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."

At the time of writing, NexStar — which operates 28 ABC affiliate stations — has yet to issue a comment. NexStar was the first to suspend Kimmel's show, before ABC's official announcement.

Both Sinclair and NexStar have histories of controversial practices, including forcing journalists at local news stations to read identical corporate-mandated statements across their channels. It is unclear whether Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be aired again on either network.

Kimmel took aim on the Trump administration's reactions to the death of Charlie Kirk during the opening monologue of his September 15 show, saying Trump's allies are "doing everything they can to score political points from it."

The next day, Trump-nominated FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Kimmel's comment was "some of the sickest conduct possible" and threatened regulatory action against ABC and its parent company Disney. ABC shortly announced all broadcasts of the show would be "indefinitely" halted.

The decision to suspend the show was met with widespread backlash from politicians and celebrities alike, who characterised the move as an attack on free speech.

Over 400 celebrities signed an open letter by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), calling the decision "unconstitutional and un-American."

"The government is threatening private companies and individuals that the President disagrees with," read the letter.

"We can't let this threat to our freedom of speech go unanswered."

Signatories to the letter included Ruth Negga and Sharon Horgan, along with Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez, Sheryl Crow, Billy Crystal, Barbra Streisand, Pedro Pascal, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Aniston, Joe Keery (aka Djo), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller, Joaquin Phoenix, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Bacon, Natalie Portman and more.