Jimmy Kimmel ABC Suspension

Erika Kirk hasn't said much about Jimmy Kimmel mentioning her husband Charlie Kirk's killer on his late-night show ... but in a new interview, she told Fox News' Jesse Watters what she would say to the comedian.

As controversial as Jimmy's comments were -- they led to a brief shutdown of the funnyman's late-night TV show and a huge critical backlash -- Erika apparently never considered it a major issue for her.

She said, "If you want to say 'I'm sorry' to someone who's grieving, go right ahead. But if that's not in your heart, don't do it. I don't want it. I don't need it."

Conan O'Brien doesn't have a late-night show anymore ... which will give him ample time to watch Jimmy Kimmel's -- 'cause he says he's so excited the star is back on the air!

We caught up with the comedian while he was leaving a building in New York City Thursday with "Saturday Night Live" star Ben Marshall -- who we may have thought was his son for just a split second -- and, we asked him if he had a chance to catch Kimmel's show in Brooklyn.

Conan said he didn't make it out ... but, it's all good because he can watch it on-air now -- reminding us we can catch Jimmy on the national broadcast again.

Ted Cruz just served up his own late-night hot take ... and Jimmy Kimmel's talk show return is squarely in the spotlight.

TMZ got the Senator talking Monday -- and he didn’t mince his words, saying Jimmy used to be hilarious, but somewhere along the way, he traded punchlines for political rants ... and, in Ted’s view, that’s when the laughs (and ratings) nosedived.

Still, Cruz isn’t cheering for a cancellation -- in fact, he says the FCC needs to butt out completely, 'cause according to him, the government threatening comedians is a slippery slope that could bite everyone in the bum.

Jimmy Kimmel ain't holding back after 'Live!' was reinstated on ABC ... taking to Instagram to mock President Donald Trump's escalator mishap at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

Check out Jimmy's post on his show's official Instagram Friday -- he shared a photo of his longtime sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez smiling down at him on an escalator and captioned it ... "Headed to Brooklyn! Escalator is working great!"

As you know, the prez was PO'd after he and First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto the escalator ahead of the general assembly Tuesday and it suddenly halted, jerking them forward.

Jimmy Kimmel’s back and everyone’s cheering -- even a bunch of A-listers signed a letter of support for him after ABC tried to bench him ... and yep, Ethan Hawke’s in the mix too!

Ethan hit the stage during Jimmy’s return this week, calling him a hero and flashing the ACLU-backed letter signed by 400 celebs defending his right to speak.

The actor was all smiles on stage on Kimmel's second night back on the air Wednesday, telling Jimmy man-to-man that signing the letter was one of the greatest privileges of his life.

"South Park" released a brand-new episode after a week-long delay ... and they put FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in the hospital with a parasitic infection.

The new episode, titled "Conflict of Interest," sees Carr in the hospital with toxoplasmosis from cat feces -- and doctors say he may lose his freedom of speech if the parasite goes to his head.

Carr is visibly upset about this -- which is all the irony 'SP' wants viewers to see, considering he pressured ABC into taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air over his comments about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect ... a move Kimmel and many supporters flagged as a direct violation of the First Amendment.

Carr is targeted at multiple points throughout the episode as Donald Trump attempts to trick Satan into aborting the baby they're expecting together with Plan B and more -- but those traps end up hurting Carr rather than Satan.

Jimmy Kimmel came back to late night this week with record-breaking numbers following his suspension from ABC.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" landed 6.26 million total viewers on Tuesday night's broadcast, according to the network. The haul marks the show's largest regularly scheduled audience in more than 10 years, dating back to March 12, 2015. Remember, that's despite preemptions across nearly a quarter of U.S. households.

Among adults age 18-49, the late-night host scored a 0.87 rating -- also its highest since 2015. Kimmel's monologue further fueled the comeback, notching more than 26 million views across YouTube and social media.

Jimmy Kimmel is back on 'Live!' 6 days after ABC placed the show on an indefinite hiatus over his comments regarding Charlie Kirk's death and he offered a soft apology without saying "sorry."

Jimmy got emotional as he stressed he never meant to make light of the murder of Charlie Kirk, praised free speech, and condemned the FCC and President Donald Trump for pressuring to take him off the air.

He joked about preempting "Celebrity Family Feud" then admitted the past 48 hours felt surreal. He compared it to the CEO of Tylenol's week. He said everyone he's ever known has reached out, even Larry, the Seattle radio boss who fired him years ago for refusing to do a donut bit.

Kimmel noted solidarity across the political spectrum, thanked ABC for 23 years of support, and pointed out Trump's push to fire late night hosts. He then shifted to comedy, joking with "FCC Chairman" Robert De Niro and mocking Trump's United Nations speech, escalator mishap, and teleprompter struggles.

He thanked viewers for speaking up so his voice could be heard, highlighting even those who disagree with him but defended his right to stay on the air.

Roseanne Barr isn't happy with how quickly the Jimmy Kimmel suspension ended ... she says he got off easy compared to her ... and she's accusing ABC of a "double standard."

She told NewsNation, "I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness and all of my work stolen and called a racist for time and eternity, for racially misgendering someone. It just shows how they think. It's a double standard."

Roseanne got booted from ABC back in May 2018, when she tweeted that former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was a product of "Planet of the Apes" and the "Muslim Brotherhood."

Jimmy Kimmel's back in the office in anticipation of 'Live!" returning to air Tuesday night -- and we've got video proof!

Check it out ... the late-night talk show host pulls up to his Hollywood studio in an Audi sedan and heads into the building ... looking straight-faced and ready to get to work.

He broke his silence following last week's suspension of his show earlier Tuesday ... sharing a photo of himself with Norman Lear and announcing he misses his pal. The picture said a whole lot more, considering the late screenwriter and producer was a change-making proponent of the First Amendment.

Jimmy Kimmel has finally spoken out after his late-night show's suspension ... and hours before he's set to return to air.

Check out his post on Instagram... it's a photo of him posing with Norman Lear, and he captioned it with a simple, "Missing this guy today."

Why is he missing Norman, you may ask? Well ... Norman was a huge proponent of the First Amendment and most known for his comedy series, "All in the Family," which was the first sitcom to touch on political and often controversial topics.

Jon Stewart cracked a joke about Jimmy Kimmel's return to ABC while taking aim at the FCC's threat to the network that coincidentally -- or not -- occurred just before "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was yanked from the air.

Check out this clip from Monday's 'Daily Show' ... Jon says he's shocked Jimmy's show is returning, considering he was told the FCC's threat to ABC -- that they could "do this the easy way or the hard way" -- had nothing to do with the show's now short-lived hiatus.

Instead, he quipped, with a ton of sarcasm ... "We just randomly remove one show a week!"

9/23 8:10 AM PT -- Nexstar Media Group is joining Sinclair in continuing to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely, the company said in a statement on their website.

Jimmy Kimmel is getting back on the air after a brief suspension, but not everyone will be able to see him on ABC when "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returns Tuesday ... because a major broadcast company is holding out.

Sinclair, which owns a ton of ABC affiliates across the country, says ... "Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming."

It sounds like Jimmy could still make his eventual return to ABC affiliates under the Sinclair umbrella ... the company adds, "Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."

Jimmy Kimmel's suspension is coming to an end.

His late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will return to ABC on Tuesday night.

The Walt Disney Company tells TMZ in a statement Monday ... "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."

The FBI says a Sacramento man accused of opening fire on a local TV station Friday left behind chilling handwritten notes ... including one directly threatening well-known political figures.

According to the feds, agents searching Anibal Hernandez Santana's home and car found two disturbing messages. In his house, tacked to a refrigerator planner under the Friday listing, was the line: "Do the Next Scary Thing."

Even more alarming ... inside his car was a note that read: "For hiding Epstein & ignoring red flags. Do not support Patel, Bongino, & AG Pam Bondi. They're next. – C.K. from above."