Jimmy Kimmel’s post-suspension ratings surge has evaporated just as quickly as it arrived, spelling doom for the liberal late-night host.
ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” shed more than 70% of its audience Thursday night compared to the liberal host’s much-hyped return to the airwaves on Sept. 23.
According to Nielsen data, the late-night program averaged 1.9 million viewers on October 2.
The figure is down sharply from the 6.6 million who tuned in for his first show after Disney briefly suspended him over false claims about the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk.
The collapse was even more severe among the advertiser-coveted 25–54 demographic, where Kimmel lost 85% of his opening-night audience, drawing just 265,000 viewers.
It marked his weakest demo performance since returning from suspension.
‘Gutfeld!’ Crushes Kimmel
Kimmel’s struggles stand in stark contrast to Fox News’s “Gutfeld!,” which continues to dominate late-night.
Greg Gutfeld’s program brought in 2.8 million total viewers Thursday night, beating Kimmel by nearly 50% overall and 40% in the demo.
Kimmel averaged 1.6 million viewers in 2025 before Disney pulled him off the air, meaning his show has not yet recovered from the controversy and could soon return to pre-scandal levels.
Fallout From Charlie Kirk Assassination Comments
Kimmel was benched by Disney in September after sparking backlash for falsely suggesting that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was part of the “MAGA gang.”
“We 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,” Kimmel said on air.
Court filings later confirmed Robinson’s left-wing ideology, directly contradicting Kimmel’s remarks.
The comments drew public outrage, scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and prompted major broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair to pull Kimmel from their stations.
Disney suspended the show after Kimmel reportedly told executives he would not issue a full apology.
Protests And Non-Apology
The suspension triggered protests from the Left, with demonstrators outside Disney’s Burbank headquarters chanting “ABC bent the knee! No to the FCC!” until the show was reinstated.
Kimmel returned less than a week later with a defiant monologue, stopping short of a full apology.
Meanwhile, Kimmel has resumed nightly attacks on President Donald Trump and conservatives.
Conservatives slammed the non-apology.
“Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said.
While Disney bowed to pressure to put him back on air, Kimmel’s ratings indicate viewers are tuning out.
Meanwhile, “Gutfeld!” has firmly cemented itself as the late-night ratings leader, especially among conservatives who see Kimmel as emblematic of Hollywood’s liberal bias.
READ MORE – Kamala Harris: Kimmel Was Suspended Because Trump ‘Couldn’t Take a Joke’
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