In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s return to television on September 23, 2025, controversy has erupted surrounding Disney’s decision to reinstate the late-night host after a week-long suspension. Kimmel had been pulled from the air after making insensitive comments about Donald Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
As Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the public’s reaction was divided, and the broader entertainment world, including celebrities, took sides.
The drama began when Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended after comments he made that were deemed insensitive by Disney. His remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk created an uproar, and Sinclair Broadcasting and NexStar Media both pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their affiliate stations.
Disney’s response to the situation was swift but led to a fierce backlash, as angry fans began protesting outside the Burbank studio and calling for Disney to reconsider its position. Disney stars even encouraged fans to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions and refrain from visiting Disney parks.
The financial ramifications were significant, with Disney’s stock dropping more than 2%, resulting in a loss of approximately $4.4 billion. Disney+ subscriptions also took a hit, as subscribers canceled their memberships in protest.
Despite the chaos, Disney executives worked with Kimmel and his legal team, eventually announcing that Kimmel would return to the air on September 23, 2025.
While many were pleased with Kimmel’s return, not everyone shared the same enthusiasm. Roseanne Barr, who had been fired by Disney years earlier for a tweet that was widely deemed racist, saw Kimmel’s reinstatement as evidence of a glaring double standard.
In 2018, Barr’s controversial tweet about former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, which she compared to both “the Muslim brotherhood” and “Planet of the Apes,” led to her immediate dismissal from her hit show Roseanne. The series was then canceled, and the remaining cast members returned to TV in The Conners, a spinoff that excluded Barr.
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Barr, who has never backed down from controversy, was quick to voice her discontent with how Disney handled her firing in comparison to Kimmel’s case.
In a recent interview with NewsNation on September 23, Barr expressed her frustration with the way her situation had been handled.
It just shows how they think. I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness, all of my work stolen, and called a racist for time and eternity, for racially misgendering someone.
Barr also took aim at Kimmel himself, criticizing him for his past actions.
[Kimmel] called me a racist even though I said repeatedly, which they repeatedly censored, that it was a mistake. I thought that the woman was a white woman from Iran.