Kimmel thanks Cruz, conservatives for defense: ‘It takes courage’
Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel thanked conservative figures for defending him on Tuesday, after the ABC host returned to the TV following a temporary suspension.
“Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” Kimmel told viewers.
“People who I never would have imagined, like Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Candace Owens, [Sens.] Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), even my old pal Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who believe it or not said something very beautiful on my behalf,” he added.
Cruz lobbied against Kimmel’s brief dismissal flagging the potential for future free speech limitations.
“It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, yeah, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it,” the Texas senator said on his “The Verdict” podcast, garnering some pushback from President Trump.
Kimmel responded to the Texas Republican: “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right. This affects all of us, including him.”
“Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects — some of the things they say even make me want to throw up — it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did,” he continued later. “And they deserve credit for it.”
The comment came after Trump railed against ABC’s decision to bring Kimmel back to the air and even teased legal action.
During the Tuesday evening broadcast, Kimmel also apologized for making a joke about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month and sought to clarify his comments about the suspected gunman.
“I want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is — you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” the host said.
“I don’t — I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he added. “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.”
Kimmel continued, “Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions — it was a deeply disturbed individual.”
ABC preempted the show for his remarks about the shooting after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr pushed for networks to respond accordingly.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill, was the first to cut the programming. Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar, which own a number of local ABC affiliates, also opted not to bring the comedian back on Tuesday.
Kimmel, who also received support from his fellow late-night hosts and a number of celebrities, acknowledged that for some the comical relief felt “ill-timed.”
“If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I would have felt the same way,” he told the viewers. “I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all.”
“I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone, this was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn’t,” he added.