Jimmy Kimmel Ratings Skyrocket After Suspension Return!!!
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.
9/23/25
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.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw Accuses Kimmel of 'Gaslighting' ... Doesn't See First Amendment Violation
-
Exclusive
- 1.2K shares
Jimmy Kimmel's return to TV -- which included a staunch defense of the First Amendment and an emotional salute to Charlie Kirk's widow -- went over like a fart in church with Congressman Dan Crenshaw.
The U.S. Representative from Texas joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," and blasted Kimmel's monologue as not just disingenuous ... but, a "new brand of gaslighting."
Crenshaw thinks the late night host was only saying what he needed to say to save face after ABC suspended him, and wasn't actually apologizing to people who felt he'd insulted Kirk's memory and his conservative followers.
Jesse Watters Let's Bomb U.N. HQ In NYC, Or Gas It ... Trump Was Sabotaged!!!
Eye for an eye from Jesse Watters ... he says America needs to bomb the United Nations building in New York City in response to a broken teleprompter and escalator during President Trump's recent visit.
The Fox News host said the U.N. "sabotaged" Trump's Tuesday visit ... saying a malfunctioning teleprompter during Trump's speech and an escalator that stopped as soon as Trump and Melania stepped onto it amounted to "an insurrection."
Watters said the response is clear ... "What we need to do is either leave the U.N. or we need to bomb it."
'Laguna Beach' 20th Anniversary Reunion in the Works!!!
We are dunzo in the best way possible -- 'cause "Laguna Beach" is getting a reunion!
The cast of "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" -- including Lauren Conrad, Stephen Colletti and Kristin Cavallari -- is expected to get together for a 2-hour 20th anniversary special on Roku.
Alex Hooser, Christina Schuller, Dieter Schmitz, Jessica Smith, Lo Bosworth, Talan Torriero and Trey Phillips are also on board for the reunion.
Jimmy Kimmel Clarifies Charlie Kirk Remarks ... Still Rips Trump/FCC
9/23/25
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 On Jimmy Kimmel ABC Double Standard ... My Life Was Ruined, He Got Time out!!!
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 Back at 'Live!' Studio Following Suspension ... Watch Him Make Return!
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.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
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 I'm Baaaaack!!! Breaks Social Media Silence with Norman Lear Post
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."
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
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.
Ana Navarro, Kamala Harris Book Tour Vs Border War
Ana Navarro's got a message for folks in Miami ... come see her moderate the last stop on the Kamala Harris book tour, "If you haven't been deported yet."
Kamala will be in Miami November 20 for the 15th and final stop of her promotional tour for her memoir, "107 Days," and the 'View' host will be moderating a discussion.
Ana's deportation joke was mostly met with laughter Tuesday on "The View" ... Kamala, sitting next to her, laughed and then mouthed, "Oh, that's awful."
Jon Stewart Jimmy's Hiatus Was Totally Not About Censorship!!!
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!"
Jimmy Kimmel Return Won't Be Seen On All ABC Stations ... Sinclair Won't Air 'Live!'
Update
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."
James Van Der Beek Makes Cameo At Dawson's Creek Event
James Van Der Beek made a surprise cameo at the Dawson's Creek Reunion Monday night in NYC, this after he bowed out of the event due to his ongoing health issues, including cancer.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
The actor — who played Dawson Leery on the hit TV show — appeared in a pre-recorded video on a virtual screen in the Richard Roger's theater in Manhattan— and introduced the man who stepped up to replace him — Lin Manuel Miranda.
Van Der Beek said he had been looking forward to the reunion for months after fellow actor Michelle Williams put the event together. He said he was disappointed he couldn't make it to see his co-stars, such as Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and Williams, who played Jen Lindley on the WB show.
Jimmy Kimmel I'm Back on ABC
-
Breaking News
- 10.1K shares
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."
Whoopi Goldberg & 'The View' We Weren't Silenced ... We're Gonna Talk About Kimmel!!!
Whoopi Goldberg set the record straight on "The View" ... saying loud and clear the show wasn't silenced when it came to talking about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.
"Did y'all really think we weren't going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel? I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? No one silences us," Goldberg said at the top of Monday's show, addressing the chatter around ABC's move to bench "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" last week.
Following the suspension announcement, there was speculation the daytime talk show had been muzzled after staying quiet when the news broke. Goldberg explained the show's decision to wait it out, saying, "When the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first." She said the show did the same thing when CBS announced "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" was on the chopping block.
TMZ Live Stream Come Into Our Office and Watch News Happen!!!
We want you to be a part of TMZ, so every weekday, between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM PT, we take you inside our newsroom via live stream.
You never know what you're gonna get ... a big story that breaks, an argument erupts in the room, or someone's just joking around.
Your comments are a big part of the stream, and the staff spends a lot of time speaking directly to you. Every day is different!
We also use our live stream to produce our "TMZ Live" TV show.
related articles
John Oliver on Jimmy Kimmel Bob Iger, ABC Are Cowards!!!
John Oliver minced no words reacting to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV show by ABC on "Last Week Tonight" ... calling ABC and Disney CEO Bob Iger a bunch of "cowards."
Check out the clip from Sunday's show -- he rails at Bob when speaking about how he believes the current administration will be remembered unfavorably in the history books ... predicting companies allowing Donald Trump and his associates steamroll them will look even worse.
He says ABC and Bob "definitely know better but still let things happen," and likens Jimmy's suspension to letting a bully take your lunch money. He explains the bully is never happy ... he will just come back hungrier for more.