L.A. Mayor Karen Bass reacted to the news of Jimmy Kimmel’s show returning on Tuesday, telling KNX News’ Craig Fiegener that Disney made the right call.
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“I am very excited that Jimmy Kimmel will be coming back,” she said. “ I just thought, to me, once again, that's just an egregious overreach of the administration that begins to move the boundaries toward government-controlled media. And I just can't think of a president in my lifetime that has not been a source of content for comedians from Saturday Night Live to late-night TV.”
Bass added that part of the job of being an elected official is “that you're fair game for comedic relief.”
Kimmel’s show is set to return on Tuesday night, almost a week after ABC announced the show would be suspended indefinitely following a comment Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.
On Monday, the Walt Disney Company issued a statement, saying production was suspended “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”
"It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” the statement continued. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."
Officials with Sinclair also issued a statement, saying it will be “preempting” the show and replacing it with news programs.
“Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the statement concluded.
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