Howard Stern Claims Victory After ABC Reinstates Jimmy Kimmel’s Late-Night Show
- Rahaman Hadisur
- Sep 24
- 2 min read
Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff
H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA
Radio host Howard Stern is celebrating what he jokingly calls his latest “win” after ABC announced the end of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, allowing Jimmy Kimmel Live! to return to the air.
On the September 23 episode of his SiriusXM show, Stern opened by declaring, “Well, looks like I solved another problem,” referencing his outspoken criticism of Disney, ABC’s parent company, just one day earlier. The media giant reinstated Kimmel’s late-night program hours after Stern had slammed the suspension as “outrageous.”
Stern, a longtime friend of Kimmel, said he was pleased with the outcome and praised Disney for “doing the right thing.” He shared that he had spoken to Kimmel directly but did not know what the comedian planned to say in his first monologue back on air.
During his broadcast, Stern played a news clip describing his intervention as a “pivotal” moment in the saga. He then joked that threatening to cancel his Disney+ subscription may have been the tipping point. “What should we fix today, Robin? Global warming? I’m on a roll,” Stern quipped to cohost Robin Quivers.
Despite his lighthearted remarks, Stern emphasized the seriousness of the issue, framing it as a matter of free speech. “You can’t support this kind of a move,” he said of Kimmel’s suspension. “They’re being pressured by the United States government. We can’t have that, not if we’re going to have a democracy.”
Kimmel was pulled off the air on September 17 following comments he made linking Tyler Robinson the 22-year-old charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk to former President Donald Trump’s supporters. The remarks drew sharp criticism from Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, who accused Kimmel of misleading viewers and publicly pressured ABC to act.
Disney initially defended its suspension as an effort to avoid inflaming tensions during a sensitive moment. However, in a statement released September 22, the company said that after “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy,” it decided the show should return.
Stern, while downplaying his influence, acknowledged that “a lot of people stepped up” in Kimmel’s defense. “You’ve got to take a stand at some point, and I’m glad a lot of people did,” he said.
The controversy highlights the increasingly fraught balance between political commentary, network accountability, and freedom of expression in late-night television.
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