Jimmy Kimmel made an emotional return to ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ tonight (September 23) after his headline-grabbing suspension.

Fighting back tears, he addressed the firestorm that saw his show pulled from the air, igniting an outpouring of emotion.

His comeback followed weeks of backlash over comments about the death of controversial right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, which triggered ABC affiliates Sinclair and Nexstar- two of the U.S.’s largest broadcast groups – to drop the late-night series “indefinitely.”

While ‘Kimmel’ is back on ABC nationally, the show remains off-air across those networks’ affiliate regions (roughly 20% of the nation). No doubt a lingering reminder of just how divisive the drama continues to be.

During his monologue, Kimmel drew on humor and raw emotion, uniquely thanking supporters on both sides of the political sphere while refusing to apologize for his remarks. Instead, he defended free speech, acknowledged the threats his family has faced, and choked up recalling Kirk’s widow’s public act of forgiveness (which he likened to the forgiveness Jesus showed).

More than anything, he emphatically made clear that he would not be silenced – no matter the political or corporate pressure. Nor President Donald Trump “wanting” him “fired.”

Watch Kimmel’s full monologue below, where key quotes also await.

Kimmel On His Return

“We are preempting your regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special. I’m happy to be here tonight with you.”

“Who had a weirder 48 hours — me or the CEO of Tylenol?”

“It’s been overwhelming… I’ve heard from all the people in the world over the last six days.”

Kimmel On Fellow Late-Night Hosts

“I do especially want to mention my fellow late-night talk show hosts. My friend Stephen Colbert, who has found himself in this predicament, my friend John Stewart, Seth Myers, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Conan O’Brien, James Cordon.”

“Can you imagine? This country has become so authoritarian that the Germans are like, ‘Come here!’”

Kimmel On Unexpected Support

“Most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway. I never would have imagined that Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, even my old pal Ted Cruz, who believe it or not said something very beautiful on my behalf.”

“Our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television, and that we have to stand up to it.”

Kimmel On Charlie Kirk’s Death

“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”

“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make.”

“I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to even though we don’t agree on politics at all. 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. Ever.”

Kimmel On Free Speech

“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”

“Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country. And that’s something I’m embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air.”

“That’s not legal. That’s not American. That is un-American and is so dangerous.”

On the FCC

“In addition to being a direct violation of the First Amendment, it is not a particularly intelligent threat to make in public. Ted Cruz said he sounded like a mafioso… This genius said it on a podcast.”

“The FCC has a tradition of meddling where they shouldn’t under many administrations, but it wasn’t always like this… That’s why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship.”

On Donald Trump

“If we don’t have free speech, then we just don’t have a free country. It’s as simple as that.”

“He tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly.”

On Disney & ABC

“I’ve been fortunate to work at a company that has allowed me to do the show the way we want to do it for almost 23 years. I’ve done almost 4,000 shows on ABC.”

“I did not agree with [being pulled off air] and I told them that. But… they welcomed me back on the air and I thank them for that.”

On Political Pressure

“The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs.”

“We have to speak out against this because he’s not stopping. And it’s not just comedy. He’s gunning for our journalists, too. He’s suing them. He’s bullying them.”

On Forgiveness

“There was a moment over the weekend, a very beautiful moment. Erica Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow.”

On Solidarity

“A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American. That’s anti-American.”

“Maybe the silver lining from this is we found one thing we can agree on and maybe we’ll even find another one.”

On Returning to Air

“Yeah. We were in the middle and in a lot of ways still are in the middle of an unprecedented fix. After almost 23 years on the air, we’re suddenly not being broadcast in 20% of the country.”

“But I am glad to be back at work. It was touch and go for a minute.”

With that, what are…

Your thoughts?

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