Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. Smart people know that.
Jimmy Kimmel is back on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but his return is already looking like another blunder for ABC. Instead of walking out with a genuine apology or a sign of accountability, Kimmel delivered a monologue that danced around the controversy and placed the blame on how people “interpreted” his words.
He told viewers it was never his intention to make light of Charlie Kirk’s killing or to pin blame on anyone, but he never said the words his critics and affiliates demanded. There was no direct admission, no clear acknowledgment that he went too far in lying about the shooter being “MAGA.” What viewers got instead was a carefully worded statement meant to quiet the uproar without actually taking responsibility.
That strategy is already backfiring. Several of ABC’s biggest affiliates, including Nexstar and Sinclair stations, still refused to put his show back on the air. Millions of households were left in the dark, a signal that Kimmel’s half-step is pleasing no one.
Dave Portnoy, of Barstool Sports, made the point that it has nothing to do with free speech and that Kimmel, with his stubborn nature, brought it on himself:
Here is my last point on Kimmel. If Kimmel came on and apologized like this the day after his remarks he probably wouldn’t have been suspended. But by all accounts he wanted to double down. Again for the billionth time this isn’t a free speech issue. He works for Mickey Mouse on NETWORK TV. Nobody said he was going to jail. He was dealing with the consequences of making off color jokes about the murder of a guy who meant a ton to a ton of people and blamed it on the very people who love him the most before the body was even cold. So yeah there was outrage that Mickey had to deal with. Then the pendulum swung the other way and they put him back on air. Either way it was never a free speech issue. When you work for somebody else and you offend a ton of people you deal with the consequences. Him framing this as free speech is a joke.
ABC clearly hoped that by moving forward, the storm would pass, but the move only makes the network look tone-deaf. Kimmel’s refusal to apologize renews the story, while his network partners are left to deal with angry viewers and advertisers.
The truth is simple. This wasn’t an apology. It was an attempt to rewrite what happened and put the burden on the audience for “misunderstanding.” That’s not accountability, it’s arrogance. And ABC letting him go back on the air without making things right is less a show of strength than a glaring mistake.