Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show Tuesday with an emotional speech in which he apologized for comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk and lashed out at U.S. President Donald Trump for “not standing for jokes” and deteriorating the country’s freedom of speech.
To a standing ovation, Kimmel returned to the small screen with a clear and forceful message: “We cannot allow our government to control what we say and what we don’t say on television”.
The comedian began his speech by thanking those who continued to support the program and “cared enough to do something about it, to make their voices heard”.
“I will never forget. I want to thank those who do not support my program or my beliefs, but support my right to share them anyway,” he added.
He went on to say that he had heard a lot about what and how he should conduct tonight’s program, although he assured that he does not expect to make a big difference with his words.
“If they like me, they like me; if they don’t, they don’t like me. I have no illusions of changing anyone’s mind, but I want to make one thing clear, because it’s important to me as a human being, and that is that you understand that it was never my intention to downplay the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said as he became emotional and broke down in tears.
“I understand that for some it was either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both, and for those who think I singled someone out, I understand why they are upset. If the situation were reversed, it’s very likely I would have felt the same way,” he added.
The comedian wanted to settle the issue by stressing the importance of cultivating a country “that allows a program like this”, even if it was not broadcast on all the usual channels.
Jimmy Kimmel’s speech also splashed Trump
Kimmel’s popular late-night show faces a partial boycott by some companies such as Nexstar and Sinclair, which control more than 50 of these channels in the U.S. and refused to air the late-night show.
In fact, some areas such as the U.S. capital were unable to see Kimmel’s show on televisions, although it could be seen on some cable channels.
“If we don’t have freedom of expression, we simply don’t have a free country. It is as simple as that. If we allow this fundamental right to perish, the rest of our rights and freedoms will fall, like dominoes, one by one,” Kimmel argued, followed by applause from the audience.
He used part of his opening monologue to attack Trump for singling out journalists and to make a plea for freedom of the press.
The U.S. government “wants to pick and choose what news is right. I know it’s not as interesting as silencing a comedian, but it’s critical to have a free press, and it’s crazy that we’re not paying more attention to it,” he warned.
Trump has made it very clear “that he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,” he continued.
And she concluded with a plea on behalf of Erika Kirk, who during her husband’s farewell event last weekend, forgave the person who had shot him. “She forgave him. That’s an example for us to follow if you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do. There it was. A selfless act of grace and forgiveness from a grieving widow,” said Kimmel, reported Agencia EFE.
Here you can watch Jimmy Kimmel’s full monologue on his return to TV.
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