TEARS & TRIUMPH! Jimmy Kimmelâs EMOTIONAL ABC Comeback Goes VIRAL as Heartbreaking Moment Brings His Mother to TEARS â âItâs Been a Rough Week for Everybody!â
Kimmelâs mom wiped her eyes âseveral timesâ throughout the taping for Tuesday nightâs episode
Jimmy Kimmelâs return to TV on Tuesday night moved his mother to tears, a new report reveals.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to ABC Tuesday after parent company Disney had âthoughtful conversationsâ with the host over his âill-timedâ comments about the đđŸđđing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Leesa Bates told People she sat next to Kimmelâs parents, Joan and James, at Tuesdayâs taping in Hollywood, California, on Tuesday night. She recalled that Kimmelâs mother teared up as her son filmed the episode.
âI saw her wiping her eyes several times,â Bates said.
âShe said that it was a rough week for everybody, and it was a really rough period,â she added.
Jimmy Kimmel pictured with his parents, Joan and James Kimmel, in 2015. Joan teared up during the first episode of âJimmy Kimmel Liveâ since ABC announced the show would return to air, according to an audience member who sat with her.
Kimmelâs latest monologue has already gone viral online, accumulating more than 14 million views on YouTube and 5.7 million views on Instagram as of Wednesday afternoon. The clip is now Kimmelâs most-watched upload in more than a year, Rolling Stone reports.
Bates told People that Kimmelâs mom was âvery niceâ and that she was close to tears even before the show started.
âShe said, âIf I start to cry, Iâm sorry,ââ Bates recalled. âAnd I said, âNo, if you start to cry, Iâm going to start to cry.â And we did. But it was very sweet. Sheâs a very nice lady.â
Kimmelâs show was suspended by ABC, Nexstar and Sinclair after he sparked outrage by accusing MAGA Republicans of using Kirkâs đđŸđđing to score political points. Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on September 10, and police have since charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in connection with the murder.
âWe had some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,â Kimmel said on September 15.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr called Kimmelâs comments âtruly sickâ and suggested ABCâs license could be at risk over it. Shortly afterward, ABC moved to suspend Kimmelâs show. While ABC reversed its decision on Monday, Nexstar and Sinclair have since said their networks will not air the talkshow.
Before Kimmel returned, big names in Hollywood and politics â like former President Barack Obama â quickly condemned his showâs suspension and raised questions about free speech. More than 400 celebrities signed an open letter against his suspension over the weekend, while protests erupted outside of Kimmelâs Hollywood studio last week.
President Donald Trump also weighed in. He initially celebrated ABCâs decision to preempt Kimmelâs show last week, but went on to criticize the network when they announced it would resume airing.
âI canât believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,â Trump wrote on Truth Social. âThe White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his âtalentâ was never there.â
âJimmy Kimmel Liveâ resumed airing on ABC on Tuesday night.
In his viral monologue, Kimmel was audibly choked up and emotional as he explained his intentions in last weekâs episode.
âI do want to make something clear, because itâs important to me as a human and that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,â Kimmel said. âI donât think thereâs anything funny about it.â
Kimmel went on to tell his audience he had since sent love to Kirkâs family and asked for compassion.
âI meant it and I still do, nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual,â Kimmel said.
The host also praised a âbeautiful momentâ that had taken place at Kirkâs public memorial in Arizona over the weekend.
âOn Sunday, Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him,â Kimmel said, as he choked up again. âThat is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply.â
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