(LifeSiteNews) — Left-wing comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings dropped back to earth almost as quickly as they skyrocketed after his brief suspension for comments he made about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. Two days later, authorities apprehended and accused 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of the shooting and detailed how he was motivated by his view of Kirk as “hateful.” Robinson was in a romantic relationship with his male roommate, who was in the process of “transitioning” to female.
ABC suspended Kimmel’s late-night talk show on September 17 after the host drew condemnation for claiming in his September 15 monologue that “we hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” despite it quickly becoming clear that Robinson was most definitely not a MAGA sympathizer. Kimmel’s remarks had drawn condemnation from Republicans, ABC affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair, and Trump administration FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
Just days later, on September 22, ABC announced Kimmel’s return, citing “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.” Nexstar and Sinclair held out for a few more days but eventually confirmed they would resume airing his show on their stations.
On his first show back, Kimmel said it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man” or “blame any specific group for the actions. It was a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but to some, that felt ill-timed or unclear or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset (…) 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.”
Fox News reported that Kimmel’s return drew 6.5 million viewers, which liberals cited as a rebuke of President Donald Trump and Kimmel’s detractors. Just two days later, however, Kimmel’s audience dropped back down by 64% to 2.3 million viewers, indicating that his ratings spike was a combination of curiosity about what Kimmel would say and liberal non-regular viewers tuning in for momentary solidarity rather than any lasting growth in support.
“Kimmel shed even more viewers in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, with Thursday’s episode hemorrhaging 73% of viewers from the critical category,” Fox noted. The show “pulled in 1.7 million viewers among the key demo for Tuesday’s return but plummeted to 465,000 only 48 hours later,” and “also lost significant viewers in the younger demographic of adults aged 18-49, managing 1.2 million on Tuesday but quickly losing 73% to settle for only 334,000 on Thursday.”
The discourse over Kimmel’s remarks and possibly the duration of his suspension were complicated by public perceptions that the federal government had pressured ABC into taking him off the air. Leftists attempted to frame him as a free speech martyr, and even some pro-Trump conservative Republicans such as Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul criticized Carr’s remarks, which Carr later walked back. Kimmel’s return made clear that ABC was ultimately deciding his fate for the network.