Julia Louis Dreyfus came to “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and brought her surprise guest: a puppy.
“Last week was so crazy, I thought being with a puppy might do good for you,” Louis Dreyfus said. Following pressure from the FCC over comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder, we referenced Kimmel’s brief halt by the ABC.
The “Veep” and “Seinfeld” stars handed over to Kimmel the Prooch, named Ethel, and said, “I especially wanted to do it because she’s a huge fan of the first fix.”
Many saw Kimmel’s suspension as an example of Disney-owned ABC bent his knees to Donald Trump. After FCC Chair Brendan Kerr suggested on a podcast that the committee could pull out licenses for broadcasters that “do not serve the public interest,” media groups Nexter and Sinclair announced they would not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live” because of comments about Kirk. ABC quickly followed suits and benched the late-night host for nearly a week.
Kimmel returned Tuesday to deliver a monologue in honor of Erica Kirk, highlighting the importance of freedom of speech.
Despite not airing in 60 American cities, Kimmel’s return to Air attracted 6.3 million viewers and marked the most viewed regular episode in the history of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (except for the special Sunday episode). The broadcast represents a 343% increase from an average of 1.4 million viewers in the previous season. Kimmel’s Tuesday night monologue now boasts more than 21 million views on YouTube.
During Thursday’s monologue, Kimmel thanked Trump for his high praise. “We could not have done that without you, Mr. President,” he said.
