Jimmy Kimmel’s comeback monologue breaks YouTube viewership records

Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late-night television has set new viewership records, with his comeback monologue quickly becoming the most-watched in his career on YouTube.

The nearly 30-minute segment, in which Kimmel addressed his suspension by Disney following pressure from the Trump administration, clarified his remarks regarding the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and passionately defended free speech. Within 24 hours, the monologue had racked up more than 19 million views.

Although Kimmel’s sketches, interviews, and shorter clips have frequently attracted millions of views, Tuesday night’s full monologue marked an unprecedented milestone for the comedian. Preliminary Nielsen figures also show that the broadcast drew 6.26 million viewers, despite being preempted on dozens of ABC affiliate stations owned by Sinclair and Nexstar, which are awaiting FCC approval for a USD 6.2 billion merger. By comparison, Jimmy Kimmel Live! typically averages around 1.6 million viewers per night.

Kimmel’s previous most-viewed monologue on YouTube was in 2017, when he revealed that his son, Billy, required emergency open-heart surgery due to a congenital condition. Other highly viewed segments include his reaction to Will Smith’s Oscars slap of Chris Rock (13 million views) and commentary on Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign (9 million views).

The surge in attention followed Disney’s suspension of Kimmel’s show after he commented on Kirk’s shooting. The move, widely seen as government overreach, prompted outcry over free speech and criticism of the Trump administration’s tactics. Disney reversed its decision on Monday after discussions with Kimmel, as well as pressure from Hollywood figures, free speech advocates, consumer boycotts, union protests, and even some Republican officials, including Senator Ted Cruz.

Shortly before Kimmel’s return, former President Donald Trump criticized both the host and ABC on Truth Social, “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back…his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.” Trump added that he planned to “test ABC out on this,” referencing a previous settlement with the network.

During the monologue, Kimmel spoke candidly about his suspension, calling it “anti-American” and clarifying his comments on Kirk’s death, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man…Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what – it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.” He also praised Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, for offering forgiveness to the accused killer.

“Look, I never imagined I would be in a situation like this…A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American,” Kimmel said. “Let’s stop letting these politicians tell us what they want and tell them what we want.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will air as usual on Wednesday night, although it remains preempted on 28 Nexstar and 38 Sinclair ABC-affiliated stations. Nexstar told Variety it is “continuing to evaluate the status of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on our ABC-affiliated local television stations…while engaged in productive discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company.”