STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves last night.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
At least he did in most cities. ABC brought back the comic a week after suspending his show over remarks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. There was so much anticipation, even fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert joked on his show that everyone but his wife was watching Kimmel.
INSKEEP: NPR's Mandalit del Barco was watching Kimmel from Los Angeles. Hi there, Mandalit.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Hello.
INSKEEP: I should note two major groups of affiliates refused to air this in some cities, so people need to know what happened.
DEL BARCO: Well, at times, Jimmy Kimmel was very emotional. He thanked the network and also those who supported his free speech rights, including those he doesn't always agree with, like Senator Ted Cruz. Kimmel also thanked his fellow late-night hosts, past and present, and he said some comedians in other countries don't enjoy America's freedoms.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
JIMMY KIMMEL: What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.
(CHEERING)
INSKEEP: That was part of the criticism of the criticism here. He was attacked by the FCC, which pressured ABC. But what did he say about the lines that made people angry?
DEL BARCO: Well, Kimmel said that he wanted to clear up what he had said about Charlie Kirk and his alleged assassin last week.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
KIMMEL: You understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder (crying) of a young man.
(APPLAUSE)
KIMMEL: I don't think there's 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. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what - it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset.
DEL BARCO: And Kimmel choked up about Charlie Kirk's grieving widow.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
KIMMEL: On Sunday, Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
INSKEEP: OK, so Kimmel is back, although President Trump had celebrated his departure and seemed to want other late-night hosts out. How's he responding?
DEL BARCO: Yeah, well, on Truth Social, Trump posted that he couldn't believe ABC let Kimmel back on the air. He thought the show had been canceled. Last year, ABC settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump, and now the president seemed to be threatening the network again. He wrote, quote, "last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million. This one sounds even more lucrative." But, you know, Steve, for his part, Jimmy Kimmel continued to mock Trump.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
KIMMEL: He tried - did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: That backfired bigly.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.
(CHEERING)
DEL BARCO: And, Steve, I want to mention one other thing that happened last night. It was a nod to the past. In 1960, Jack Paar was hosting "The Tonight Show," and the story goes that he made a joke that NBC didn't like. The executives edited it out, and Paar was so furious about being censored that he walked off the set of his next show. Three weeks went by. NBC reportedly apologized to Paar, and when he returned to the show, he said this...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TONIGHT SHOW")
JACK PAAR: As I was saying before I was interrupted...
(LAUGHTER)
DEL BARCO: Those were also the first words Jimmy Kimmel said when he came back.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
KIMMEL: As I was saying before I was interrupted...
(LAUGHTER)
INSKEEP: NPR's Mandalit del Barco. Thanks so much.
DEL BARCO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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