Jimmy Kimmel marked a triumphant return to the late-night scene with sky-high viewership.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! hit 6.3 million viewers during its fiery comeback episode on Tuesday, despite not airing in 23 percent of U.S. households due to boycotts by Nexstar and Sinclair, according to preliminary data from Nielsen, which does not yet include streaming data.
The Tuesday numbers are nearly four times larger than Kimmel’s second-quarter average of 1.77 million viewers over seven days, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In the coveted 18-49 demographic, the show earned a .87 rating, making it the most-watched episode in more than 10 years.
In a 28-minute monologue that was both emotional and defiant, Kimmel said it was never his intention to make light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“I want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said, choking up.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he continued. “I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed sending love to his family and asking for compassion—and I meant it. And I still do.“
Still, the four-time Emmy winner did not shy away from skewering President Donald Trump, who earlier declared that the long-running show had “no ratings.”
“Well, I do tonight!” Kimmel responded, drawing applause from the audience. “You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly.”
