The aftermath of the recent controversial suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! has brought a mother lode of high ratings to the late-night laugh-fest. But Kimmel is now revealing that he thought his gig was not ever coming back after it was temporarily pulled off the air for nearly a week.
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He evidently ruffled some feathers when he commented on the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the reaction of President Donald Trump in his monologue on September 15. Jolted by the abrupt suspension, Kimmel says he feared that the popular program would be sidelined for good.
Kimmel Got the Bad News by Phone in the Bathroom
Kimmel has opened up about how he learned the bombshell news about the suspension. He dished about it on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on September 30. Per CNN via The Late Show, he said, "It was about 3:00; we tape our show at 4:30. I'm in my office, typing away as I usually do. I get a phone call. It's ABC. They say they want to talk to me. This is unusual: They, as far as I knew, didn't even know I was doing a show previous to this."
Five writers were in his office, so he ducked into a bathroom to take the call privately. "So I go into the bathroom, and I'm on the phone with the ABC executives. and they say, 'Listen, we want to take the temperature down. We're concerned about what you're going to say tonight, and we decided that the best route is to take the show off the air.'"
He Says He "Lost the Vote"
Kimmel added, "I said, 'I don't think that's a good idea,' and they said, 'Well, we think it's a good idea.' Then there was a vote, and I lost the vote." He then broke the jarring news to his executive producers. The comedian said, "I thought, that's it. It's over, it's over. I was like, I'm never coming back on the air."
The studio audience had to get up and leave. The food that a chef was in the midst of cooking was uneaten. Howard Jones, who was slated to be the show's musical guest, taped a song despite the disruption. Fittingly, it was "Things Can Only Get Better."
