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Jimmy Kimmel is back on air 鈥� but the free speech battle isn鈥檛 over

Jimmy Kimmel is back 鈥� mostly. The comedian returned to late-night TV on Tuesday after a six-day suspension by Disney, the corporate owner of ABC, over comments he made about the man who allegedly shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk two weeks ago.

In his opening monologue, Mr. Kimmel discussed the controversy around his remarks, in which he had suggested, without evidence, that Mr. Kirk鈥檚 accused killer came from within the MAGA movement. He didn鈥檛 apologize. But he did tear up, saying it was never his intention 鈥渢o make light of the murder of a young man.鈥� And he said he understood why those who thought he was 鈥減ointing a finger鈥� at conservatives had gotten upset.

Still, he made clear to his audience that he had no intention of pulling any punches when it came to President Donald Trump.

鈥淗e tried his best to cancel me; instead he forced millions of people to watch the show,鈥� Mr. Kimmel said. 鈥淭hat backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this 苍辞飞.鈥�

Mr. Kimmel reportedly worked out the terms of his return to the show directly with Disney CEO Bob Iger, who had faced a torrent of criticism 鈥� including from former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. 鈥淲here has all the leadership gone?鈥� .

Not all who wanted to watch the reinstated 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥� on broadcast TV could do so. Two groups of ABC affiliates 鈥� some 70 stations in all, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group 鈥� opted to keep preempting the show indefinitely. Together, they represent close to 30% of ABC stations, scattered around the country, including the Washington, D.C., affiliate. Viewers could still watch the show via streaming services on the web.

Despite Mr. Kimmel鈥檚 return, the reverberations of this particular skirmish may linger 鈥� as both an example of the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to suppress unwelcome speech, as well as what successful pushback might look like. President Trump on Tuesday hinted he might sue ABC again, over Mr. Kimmel鈥檚 return.

鈥淚n some ways, free speech is probably at an inflection point,鈥� says Heather Hendershot, a media historian at Northwestern University.

She suggests that the government is 鈥渢esting the waters鈥� to see if it can get away with silencing entertainment programming with a political angle. 鈥淚f they can get away with that, the news is next, is my concern,鈥� Professor Hendershot says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty dangerous moment.鈥�

Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the conservative Manhattan Institute, offers little optimism for the foreseeable future.

鈥淔ree speech culture has seen better days,鈥� Mr. Shapiro says. 鈥淎nd together with the generally polarized nature of our civil discourse and the low societal trust that we have, we鈥檙e not at a very healthy place in terms of a free and open and civil exchange of ideas.鈥�

For Mr. Kimmel, the return to the airwaves represents a victory. Some 400 Hollywood celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Jennifer Aniston, signed a letter supporting free speech and defending Mr. Kimmel. The Disney+ streaming service saw a wave of subscriber cancellations in response to his 鈥渋ndefinite suspension,鈥� and Disney鈥檚 stock price fell.

The Kimmel hiatus was triggered by this statement in his Sept. 15 monologue: 鈥淲e 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.鈥�

The comment sparked a backlash from conservatives, including Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who called for Mr. Kimmel鈥檚 suspension, adding: 鈥淲e can do this the easy way or the hard way.鈥�

Nexstar, it鈥檚 worth noting, has business before the FCC regarding its planned merger with Tegna, a broadcast, digital media, and marketing services company.

Some heard mob overtones in Mr. Carr鈥檚 comments 鈥� including conservative GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Senator Cruz said on his podcast, 鈥淚 hate what Jimmy Kimmel said,鈥� but the FCC chair鈥檚 comment sounded 鈥渞ight out of 鈥楪oodfellas.鈥欌�� Senator Cruz chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the FCC.

Popular podcaster Joe Rogan, a supporter of Mr. Trump, called those who applauded Mr. Kimmel鈥檚 suspension 鈥渃razy.鈥�

鈥淚 definitely don鈥檛 think that the government should be involved ever in dictating what a comedian can or cannot say in a monologue,鈥� Mr. Rogan said.

Mr. Kimmel made a point to thank all the conservative voices who had spoken out on his behalf in recent days, saying, 鈥淢aybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don鈥檛 support my show and what I believe 鈥� but support my right to share those beliefs, anyway.鈥�

Mr. Trump has persisted in slamming Mr. Kimmel from the start of the controversy. Tuesday evening, the president weighed in again on his social media platform.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,鈥� , ending with his usual derision of Mr. Kimmel over ratings. (In fact, late-night TV overall has faced declining ratings in recent years as media consumption habits have changed.) Mr. Trump accused Mr. Kimmel of being 鈥渁n arm鈥� of the Democratic National Committee, and said he might 鈥渢est ABC out on this,鈥� noting that his defamation lawsuit against the network鈥檚 news division resulted in a $16 million settlement last year.

Mr. Kimmel pushed back directly on Tuesday night.

鈥淭he president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can鈥檛 take a joke.鈥�

Ultimately, the comedian expressed gratitude for the freedoms that come from living in the United States 鈥� and he urged Americans not to take them for granted.

鈥淭his show is not important,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.鈥�