Following the news that Jimmy Kimmel would be going back on the air tomorrow night, Sinclair Broadcast Group has issued a statement about his return to late-night television. The Sinclair Broadcast Group confirms that it will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live when it returns tomorrow night, but Kimmel’s negotiations with the network are still ongoing. Disney and ABC had come under major fire from fans, creatives, and actors for the decision to take Kimmel off the air, with some going as far as saying they’d never work for Disney until Kimmel was reinstated.
Jimmy Kimmel Live will be replaced on ABC affiliate stations and replaced with “news programming,” according to Sinclair. This is expected to continue until the negotiations are complete, or at least until they reach a more advanced stage. Kimmel’s firing has not only been the biggest news story of the last week, but also one of the biggest stories of the year. He was originally fired for remarks about the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, but his absence lasted less than a week. Kimmel has yet to comment on his reinstatement at the time of writing.
One of the first to break their silence on the firing was She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star Tatiana Maslany. Maslany took to her personal Instagram account to encourage her followers to unsubscribe from Disney+ and Hulu. Other actors, such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps star Pedro Pascal, have also taken to their social media to “stand with Jimmy Kimmel.” This is even more complicated than it seems on the surface, too — few actors under the Disney umbrella have as much power as Marvel stars, who generate as much money for the company as almost anyone else who is public-facing.
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say That Got Him Fired?
When commenting on Trump’s response to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately 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.” President Donald Trump celebrated his firing on a social media post from his Truth Social account, and also called for other late-night hosts, such as Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, to also be fired.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the ongoing Jimmy Kimmel situation.
