Jimmy Kimmel finally speaks after suspension, posting a heartfelt Norman Lear tribute

Jimmy Kimmel has broken his silence following his suspension from ABC.

The late-night talk show host took to his Instagram for the first time since he made comments about Charlie Kirk's demise, which led to his show getting taken off the air abruptly. In his Tuesday, September 23 post on Instagram, Kimmel, 57, shared a photo of himself and the late Norman Lear.

"Missing this guy today," he captioned it.

Norman Lear was a renowned TV writer, producer, and activist. He died at the age of 101 in December 2023, and is most known for having created the iconic comedy series, All in the Family.

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The drama surrounding Jimmy Kimmel explained as talk show host honors Norman Lear years after his demise:

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended days ago due to its host's comments about MAGA and Charlie Kirk. The latter was assassinated on September 10 at Utah Valley Campus. In the episode that followed, the comedian said in his monologue:

"We hit 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. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this."

ABC and its parent company, Disney, promptly announced that the show was suspended indefinitely, though they have since reversed this decision. The show will be making a comeback, though Jimmy Kimmel has yet to address the whole ordeal.

As for his bond with Norman Lear, back when the latter died, Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to his legacy and humor by recounting a profanity-riddled letter Lear once sent him:

“Hi, before we start the show, and before the audience comes into our theater. I just wanted to tell you that, last night at around 7 PM, 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,” Jimmy Kimmel began. “His name is Norman Lear. Norman was the genius who brought us some of the greatest television shows and characters of all time. ‘All in the Family,’ ‘Good Times,’ ‘The Jeffersons,’ ‘Maude,’ ‘The Facts of Life,’ ‘Diff’Rent Strokes,’ ‘Sanford and Son,’ ‘One Day at a Time,’ ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,’ ‘Fernwood Tonight’ — it’s an incredible list and he was an incredible person,” Kimmel continued.

He went on,

“He changed situation comedy in the best possible way. 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. I was fortunate enough to work with Norman on several projects over the last five years, including live revivals of some of his greatest shows and I loved him dearly.”

He then shared that he and his wife had sent the late comedian a t-shirt for Christmas the year before that, and it had “Norman F-ing Lear” embossed over it. According to Jimmy Kimell, Lear loved it, and sent the pair a letter back, which reads as follows:

"Dear Molly and Jimmy, I can’t f—ing believe this f—ing sweatshirt. It’s something I’ve always wanted more than I can f—ing tell. You guys are the f—ing best and I wish you the dearest, sweetest, greatest f—ing holiday season in the history of holiday f—ing seasons.Signed, Norman F. Lear."

Jimmy Kimmel also echoed his love for the late icon earlier this month at the Creative Arts Emmys, where he was honored with the Outstanding Game Show Host award for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Following his win, he was asked backstage if he would ever do another “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special, to which he said:

“I think it would be too emotional to do it without Norman Lear. I don’t know if my heart could take it.”

The series was a string of specials that were hosted and created by Jimmy Kimmel. It saw him recreate several of Lear's projects from the 1970s and ’80s, such as “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “The Facts of Life” and “Diff’rent Strokes.”

These specials were broadcast in May 2019, December 2019, and December 2021. They nabbed several Emmy awards and were known for encapsulating Norman Lear's sharp wit and humor.

“The great thing about doing that show with Norman [was] it was a way to honor him in the way that you honor people after they’ve passed while he was still alive,” Jimmy Kimmel continued at the time. “That was, for me, the best part of the whole deal. And I don’t know. It just would feel weird to do it without him, I think.”

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