Late evening comic Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday opened up about his short-term suspension from ABC final month over feedback he made within the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, conceding that he was shocked to be pulled off the air for phrases he stated have been “intentionally and, I think, maliciously mischaracterized.”
In an interview on Bloomberg Screentime, Kimmel stated he didn’t notice his feedback had stirred a lot controversy till the community introduced that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” could be “preempted indefinitely.”
“I didn’t think there was a big problem,” he stated. “I just saw it as distortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks, and I aimed to correct it.”
“I have problems, like, all the time,” Kimmel added. “And it’s kind of funny, because sometimes you think, ‘Oh, this is not a problem,’ and then it turns into be a big problem, and then sometimes it goes the other way, where you think, like, ‘Uh-oh, this is gonna be a problem,’ and nobody really notices.”
Kimmel, although, made clear he didn’t imagine he had dedicated any wrongdoing, telling Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw that his feedback have been “intentionally and, I think, maliciously mischaracterized.”
Kimmel recalled that he spent the weekend following his suspension speaking to Disney executives, together with Dana Walden, the co-chair of Disney Entertainment, which he stated helped him “just kind of understand where everyone was coming from.”
“I can sometimes be reactionary. I can sometimes be aggressive. And I can sometimes be unpleasant. And I think that it helped me really having those days to think about it was helpful,” Kimmel added.
Finally, Kimmel’s present was suspended for simply six days.
The comic stated he and Disney executives agreed on “the spirit” of what he was going to say upon his return to air however didn’t go over a script of his remarks.
Whereas President Donald Trump celebrated Kimmel’s suspension and even threatened to sue ABC for bringing the present again, the comic stated he “would love to have Trump on the show for sure.” However Kimmel stated he didn’t share the identical curiosity in internet hosting Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Fee.
Carr had fiercely criticized Kimmel following his feedback on conservatives’ response to the Kirk taking pictures, issuing a not-so-veiled menace to Disney, warning penalties may observe if the corporate didn’t take motion to self-discipline the host.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr informed a right-wing podcaster hours earlier than ABC suspended Kimmel.
The ABC host additionally weighed in on CBS’s announcement that it might be canceling “The Late Show” subsequent 12 months, presently hosted by Stephen Colbert.
Whereas CBS framed the decision as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” Kimmel didn’t appear satisfied.
“I know that if we’re losing so much money, none of us would be on,” Kimmel stated. “That’s kind of all you need to know.”
