Ben Stiller took to social media to celebrate the much-anticipated return of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
After a week-long break that seemed it might become a permanent hiatus, Kimmel’s popular talk show reappeared on ABC this past Monday (September 23).
The show was initially put on hold by ABC ‘indefinitely’ due to controversy surrounding Kimmel’s monologue on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
However, as calls for a boycott of Disney, ABC’s parent company, grew louder—with stars like Tatiana Maslany of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Lost creator Damon Lindelof voicing their concerns—the network decided to bring the show back.
Despite this, Disney reportedly suffered a significant financial blow, losing around $5 billion in stock value.
Reacting to Kimmel’s return to the airwaves, Ben Stiller, known for his roles in Meet the Parents and Dodgeball, expressed his admiration on X, tweeting: “What a brilliant monologue from Jimmy Kimmel.”
Earlier, Stiller had expressed his disapproval of Kimmel’s dismissal with a terse comment on the same platform: “This isn’t right.”
During his return monologue, Kimmel, who has hosted the Oscars four times, targeted US president Donald Trump, citing Trump’s significant influence in his temporary removal from the show.
“You almost have to feel sorry for him, he tried his best to cancel me and instead he forced millions of people to watch the show,” Kimmel remarked with a grin.
“The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.
“One thing I did learn from Lenny Bruce and George Carlin and Howard Stern, is that a government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American,” Kimmel added.
Kimmel also took the opportunity to clarify his comments regarding Charlie Kirk’s tragic death, which he had previously suggested was the work of a MAGA supporter.
“I want to make something clear because it is important to me as a human and that is that it was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man,” he stated, visibly emotional.
“I don’t think there is anything funny about it, I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed sending love to his family and asking for compassion and I meant it and I still do.”
The 57-year-old host also reflected on the gesture of forgiveness from Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, during his memorial service last weekend.
“Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. That is an example we should follow,” he observed.
“It touched me deeply. And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, not this.”