The fact that we had to sadly say goodbye to Stephen Colbert a couple of weeks ago continues to cast a dark cloud over what the future of late night might look like, we mustn’t forget that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC eight months ago. And here he is on the 2026 TV schedule on weeknights and expected to be on the air at least until May 2027 following a recent contract extension. Kimmel recently got real honest about his attitude about being “micromanaged” by his network and discussed a previous incident you might not remember.
Kimmel Makes New Comments On Suspension
In Jimmy Kimmel’s new profile with Vulture, the late night host got honest about one of his stipulations for coming back to Jimmy Kimmel Live! after famously being pulled off the air last year. In September 2025, he was suspended “indefinitely” when he made comments about the late Charlie Kirk that were deemed offensive by some. After a ton of Hollywood reactions against the move and tons of people cancelling their Disney+ subscriptions as a boycott, Kimmel returned. But it wasn’t without some discussion with ABC. As Kimmel shared:
One of the things we talked about when I first got suspended was that I can’t do this show if I’m going to be micromanaged.
Previously Kimmel has said he can sometimes be “reactionary”, “aggressive” and “unpleasant”. And per this new interview, he doesn’t think he can maintain his role as a late night host if he was always hovered over by the higher ups.
The Previous Jimmy Kimmel Live Joke That Led ABC To Intervene
While Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension ultimately only lasted a few days, did you know there was a previous incident back in 2013 the show was under hot water for? During a broadcast in October of that year, there was a segment with a panel of children (around 5 to 6 years old) where he asked them questions pertaining to the government.
At one point, when asked how the U.S. should handle its debt to China, one child suggested they “kill everyone in China”. Kimmel played along and leaned into it as a joke asking the rest of the table “Should we allow the Chinese to live?”. Many of the kids shouted “Yes!”, while one child went against the grain saying, “No!”. The segment prompted a ton of backlash and protests.
While Kimmel and ABC issued apologies at the time, now the late night host apparently “regrets” apologizing for the joke, saying this:
For the good of the Disney company, I took that bullet.
At the time of the controversy, Kimmel said he “did not mean to upset” people and felt it was a “mistake putting it on the air” – clarifying that their “objective is to entertain” and would “never purposefully broadcast anything to upset the Chinese community, Asian community, anyone of Chinese descent or any community at large.”
As Jimmy Kimmel continues to have the microphone on weeknights on ABC, we’ll have to see how he continues to toe the line between making bold jokes and not getting in trouble.
