Jimmy Kimmel posts for first time since suspension — hours before his ‘JKL!’ return
Jimmy Kimmel is back on social media after his late-night talk show was suspended and then reinstated.
Just hours before shared a photo with late TV legend Norman Lear.
“Missing this guy today,” Kimmel captioned the picture.
Lear died at age 101 in December 2023.
The TV icon created the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family,” which aired from 1971 to 1979 and covered social and political topics. That landed Lear on President Richard Nixon’s “enemies” list at the time.
“I think I just got lucky,” Lear told “Democracy Now!” in 2016 of being on Nixon’s list. “I think we used the tape in the ‘American Masters’ documentary where he is talking about with [H.R.] Haldeman in his office, he’s talking about ‘that show that makes fun of a good man.’ Those were his words.”
“He was talking about Archie Bunker, [Carroll O’Connor’s character, saying] that we were lauding homosexuality and homosexuality brought down the Greek empire … It was Nixon at his Trump-ish,” Lear added.
Lear and Kimmel had a working relationship when they teamed up to make “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” a series of ABC specials that aired live in which episodes of Lear sitcoms were staged by contemporary actors.
The “All in the Family” re-created episodes, which aired in 2019, starred Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Bacon, Ike Barinholtz, Sean Hayes, Anthony Anderson, Ellie Kemper and Jesse Eisenberg.
After Lear’s death, Kimmel remembered him in an emotional tribute that he delivered to an empty studio on his late-night show.
“Last night at around 7 p.m., we lost not only a giant in the world of television, but a great man who was one of the most important and impressive people I ever had the pleasure of meeting,” Kimmel said.
“Norman was the genius who brought us some of the greatest television shows and characters of all time,” he continued, mentioning “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Good Times” and “The Facts of Life.”
“He changed situation comedy in the best possible way,” Kimmel added of Lear. “He taught us so much about so many serious things, always making us laugh while he did it, and everyone who works in or even watches television owes him a great debt. Especially me.”
Last week, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was taken off the air by ABC because of the host’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“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, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his monologue on last Monday’s show.
Following pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr and Nexstar Media Group, which owns many of the TV stations that air ABC shows, the network announced Kimmel’s show was being pulled “indefinitely.”
open letter protesting Kimmel’s suspension, including Jennifer Aniston, Ariana Grande, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Pedro Pascal and Robert De Niro.
On Monday, Disney announced “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be back on ABC the following night.
In a statement, the media conglomerate said it suspended Kimmel “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” calling some of his comments “ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
Kimmel’s first episode back won’t be aired on dozens of local ABC stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which announced that it will air news programming in its place.
Sources told The Post that Kimmel will address the controversy during his monologue on Tuesday, though he will stop short of apologizing.
Singer Sarah McLachlan and actor Glen Powell will guest on the episode.