Jimmy Kimmel says he didn't mean to 'blame any specific group' for Charlie Kirk's assassination

Jimmy Kimmel returned to the studio on Tuesday after missing just four episodes following a suspension over remarks about Charlie Kirk's murderer.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was pulled off the air last Wednesday after the host claimed that Kirk's alleged assassin was part of "the MAGA gang" that was desperately trying to disassociate the shooter from its political ideology.

"The MAGA gang [is] 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," Kimmel remarked.

'This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn't, ever.'

Following those comments, Kimmel and other liberals claimed he was the victim of a government plot to silence him. However, the host returned to the airwaves on Tuesday and prefaced his monologue with a compilation of news stories surrounding his suspension. This included left-wing networks calling his return a "huge" and "pivotal" moment in history.

Kimmel took the stage to multiple standing ovations from his audience, immediately tearing up. He mentioned all the love he had received over the weekend, including from other hosts like Howard Stern and Stephen Colbert, and even a former employer who fired him from a radio station.

But when Kimmel addressed the remarks that led to his suspension, he said he was not trying to pin any ideology to the shooter.

"I have no illusions about changing anyone's mind," Kimmel said. "But I do 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. I don't think there's anything funny about it."

Kimmel noted he made a social media post about Kirk in support of his family, before adding, "Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what ... was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make."

"I don't think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn't, ever," Kimmel explained.

RELATED: Nexstar stands its ground, keeps blocking Kimmel's show

Kimmel made time to thank those who "don't support" his show or what he believes in but support his "right to share those beliefs."

This included "Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, even my old pal Ted Cruz."

After playing a clip of Senator Cruz's remarks, Kimmel still chose to make fun of the Republican by saying, "If Ted Cruz can't speak freely, then he can't cast spells on the Smurfs."

The rest of Kimmel's monologue focused on his apparent battle with the government over his right to speech, with the 57-year-old stating that Americans cannot allow their government to "control what we do and do not say on television."

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had said of Kimmel's network, ABC, last week, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," in reference to Kimmel's false statements linking the suspected assassin with MAGA. This became the predominant source of liberal claims that the government was censoring speech.

RELATED: I experienced Jimmy Kimmel’s lies firsthand. His suspension is justice.

Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images

ABC affiliate station owners Nexstar and Sinclair still chose not to broadcast Kimmel's show upon his return, with Nexstar telling Blaze News, "We made a decision last week to pre-empt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s 'ill-timed and insensitive' comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve."

Nexstar owns 32 of 200 ABC affiliate stations.

Carr doubled down before Kimmel's return on Tuesday and said Democrats "simply can't stand that local TV stations—for the first time in years—stood up to a national programmer & chose to exercise their lawful right to preempt programming."

"We need to keep empowering local TV stations to serve their communities of license," he wrote on X.

Kimmel also claimed in his monologue that the powers that be, simply using the word "they," tried to "coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air."

"That's not legal," the host declared. "That's not American. That is un-American, and it is so dangerous."

In the end, Kimmel admitted his show is not important, but said rather that what is important is living in a country that allows a show like his to remain on the air.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!