Breaking News: Jimmy Kimmel returning. His show will resume Tuesday. Why Disney backed down

Parent company Disney: 'We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.' You bet they did.

The mouse blinked.

The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live has blown up in the face of The Walt Disney Company, corporate owner of ABC, which pulled Kimmel’s show off the air.

After less than a week, Kimmel will return tomorrow night. What he will have to say will be among the most-watched television events in years.

Also being watched is Disney’s bottom line, which was battered this week. Mickey Mouse and friends were not happy. From the internet, this parade of corporate horror:

• Stock price dip: Disney's stock price dropped by approximately 2–3% in the days following the show's suspension, leading to an estimated loss of around $4.4 billion in market value. However, the stock reportedly began to climb back up after the announcement that the show would return.

• Streaming cancellations: The controversy sparked a social media-driven boycott, with many viewers publicly canceling their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions. The surge in cancellations was significant enough that some users reported the cancellation portal briefly crashed.

• Exacerbated brand risk: Industry experts noted the suspension put Disney in a difficult position, appearing to cave to political pressure. Some felt this decision was more damaging to its brand than keeping Kimmel on the air.

• Talent backlash: The move to suspend Kimmel drew strong condemnation from hundreds of celebrities, including Marvel stars and late-night hosts like John Oliver. A letter defending free speech signed by over 430 figures was published, and some, like former Disney executive Michael Eisner, criticized the company. This created significant reputational damage within the entertainment industry.

• Negative public relations: The backlash from both sides of the political spectrum created a major public relations crisis for Disney. The company received a flood of angry messages and threats, and had to cancel press appearances for at least one film premiere.

Here’s Disney’s official announcement about Kimmel’s return, corporate babble only a damage-control expert could love:

“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. 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.”

Said another way, not even Mickey Mouse could save this disaster.

Kimmel’s monologue, I think it can be fairly argued, might have been a bit harsh given the fraught moment after Charlie’s Kirk’s murder, but the targets of his satire were not Kirk, nor his widow, but politicians who were attempting to exploit the tragedy.

Said The Washington Post:

Kimmel used his monologue Sept. 15 to suggest Kirk’s accused killer was part of “the MAGA gang” rather than a liberal, and suggested Trump was feigning grief over the killing to “score political points.” Kimmel had previously condemned the shooting and those who celebrated it. His jokes leading up to his suspension did not target Kirk but rather Republicans whom Kimmel accused of exploiting the death, including Trump’s son Eric (“This poor guy might need someone to adopt him,” Kimmel said), Vice President JD Vance (and “his little mascara-stained finger”), and FBI Director Kash Patel, who was heard repeatedly sniffing into a microphone in Kimmel’s clip montage.

The monologue was standard fare for Kimmel. And the right-wing backlash to it did not seem especially remarkable until Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, appeared on a conservative podcast Wednesday and linked Kimmel to “a very concerted effort to try to lie to the American people about” the politics of Kirk’s killer.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said, accusing ABC; its parent company, Disney; and any companies that broadcast its content for potentially violating government rules. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Throughout this, Kimmel has kept his powder dry and has not issued any public statements. Will we hear from him before the show tomorrow night? Or will he keep us in suspense until he delivers his monologue?

We’ll see. This is a fast-developing story. But my guess, at this moment, is the latter. It would be a ratings bonanza. I’ve already set my recorder.

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J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.

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