Jimmy Kimmel will return to air on Tuesday, Disney announcing that the late night host's suspension is being lifted after "thoughtful conversations" with him. Even so, the issues that led to Kimmel being pulled from broadcast are far from settled, with concerns about government censorship and infringement of free speech continuing to dominate.
Late Night host Seth Meyers didn't have much to say about Kimmel's return during the show's most recent episode, noting that he just found out about it minutes before filming began. However, Meyers did speak about the environment that led to Kimmel's suspension, particularly President Donald Trump's blatant targeting of his political opponents and critics.
"[T]he whole point of free speech is that it's protected even when you don't like it," said Meyers. "Yes, comedy shows make jokes about the president. You know why? Because he's the president. He's the most powerful, most famous person on the planet. And in this particular case, he's a billionaire and his party controls everything."
ABC pulled Kimmel off air amidst apparent threats from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr to revoke its broadcast license unless it punished him for comments he made about the Republican reaction to right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk's death. Trump subsequently reacted to the ABC's decision with glee, calling for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers to be removed from broadcast as well. All these shows have been critical of and made jokes about Trump, and been the targets of his ire because of it.
In response, Meyers pointed out that Trump is far from the only politician late night hosts have criticised. The difference is that he keeps giving them mountains of material.
"The point is, we make jokes about politicians and people in the news, including Joe Biden," said Meyers, directly addressing Trump. "It was just harder with Joe Biden because he didn't say much.
"You, on the other hand, talk all the time! You never stop talking! You didn't stop talking when he was president! You've talked more than all the other presidents combined, ever! People say Johnny Carson didn't make this many jokes about politics, but he would have if every time he spoke Ronald Reagan did 15 minutes on how toilets don't flush well anymore!"
