Los Angeles – After Jimmy Kimmel’s return to TV, the uproar over his comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has started up again. Kimmel started his program on Tuesday, September 23, after being off the air for almost a week. He gave an emotional monologue in which he said he “never meant to make light of the murder of a young man.”
Andrew Kolvet, who was the late Charlie Kirk’s spokesman and the executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, quickly shot down Kimmel’s claim. Kolvet labeled Kimmel an “unrepentant liar” in a post on X and said he was trying to “blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last two weeks praying and holding vigils.”
Kolvet’s strong reaction is because of Kimmel’s original monologue on Monday, September 15, when he talked about Kirk’s death and the political turmoil that followed. Kimmel made fun of President Donald Trump’s reaction and said that “the Maga Gang” was “desperately trying to make this kid who killed Charlie Kirk seem like anything other than one of them.” Tyler Robinson is the “kid” in question. He was later arrested and charged with killing Kirk. There has been a lot of talk and speculation about Robinson’s political beliefs and reasons for doing what he did.
Kolvet said in a recent post that Kimmel’s monologue delivered an obvious and “vile lie” to the public, suggesting that “if you kill a conservative, we will cover for you.” He also said that Kimmel’s apology was a “fake and scripted cry line” and that there could be no “restoration” until the host admitted he lied.
The first scandal over Kimmel’s comments caused a huge political and media firestorm, with some conservatives, including President Trump, asking for Kimmel to be fired permanently. ABC brought the show back, but Kirk’s friends and conservative media people are still criticizing it, which shows that the incident is still a very divisive issue.