Jimmy Kimmel's triumphant return to late-night TV has not only garnered a sea of praise for the comedian, who defended the right to free speech in his monologue and clarified the comments that led to his removal, but also a surge in viewership. The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! was absent from his usual ABC slot for almost a week, after he made a comment on the show about the death of Charlie Kirk, a conservative political podcaster who was killed at a university speaking event in Utah.
Jimmy brought in a whopping 6.26 million broadcast viewers alone according to the ABC, despite affiliate stations owned by Nexstar and Sinclair preempting his show, effectively blocking 23% of US TV households from watching. The star typically brings in 1.6 million broadcast viewers per episode, meaning that his viewership jumped almost 300% on Tuesday night.
As per the ABC, his monologue garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and other social media platforms, and the original figure doesn't include people watching the show on streaming services. Jimmy's most-watched monologue on YouTube prior to Tuesday's instalment was in 2017 when he opened up about his infant son, Billy, who was born with a congenital heart condition and required immediate open-heart surgery.
Tuesday's episode received a 0.87 rating, the series' highest since March 2015. Jimmy joked about his soaring viewership in his monologue, hitting back at Donald Trump's claims that he had "no ratings". The father of four quipped, "Well, I do tonight! 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."
Donald was less than impressed with the news of Jimmy's return, taking to Truth Social to slam the ABC network. "I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back," he wrote. "The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his 'talent' was never there."
"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." Jimmy's show was put on pause on September 17, after he commented that the far-right were trying to pin the blame of Charlie Kirk's death onto the political left, despite the alleged shooter being raised in a conservative family.
"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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," he said. The 57-year-old walked back on his comment during Tuesday's monologue, breaking down in tears as he clarified his meaning.
"You understand 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. "I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, asking compassion for his family, and I meant it. I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a specific individual."
He continued: "That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset. If the situation were reversed, there's a good chance I would've felt the same way."