Julia Louis-Dreyfus came on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and brought a surprise guest: a puppy.
“I thought, it’s been so crazy this last week, that to be with a puppy might do you some good,” Louis-Dreyfus said, referencing Kimmel’s brief suspension by ABC following pressure from the FCC regarding comments he made about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
The “Veep” and “Seinfeld” star handed Kimmel the pooch, named Ethel, and said, “She particularly wanted to come on because she’s a huge fan of the First Amendment.”
Many viewed Kimmel’s suspension as an example of the Disney-owned ABC bending the knee to Donald Trump, who has long called for the cancellation of late-night programs that have been critical of him. After FCC chairman Brendan Carr suggested on a podcast that the commission could pull the license of broadcasters who don’t “serve the public interest,” media groups Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live” due to his comments about Kirk. ABC quickly followed suit, benching the late-night host for nearly a week.
Kimmel returned on Tuesday and delivered a monologue that emphasized the importance of free speech and paid respect to Erika Kirk, whose remarks at her husband’s funeral “touched [Kimmel] deeply.”
Despite not airing in 60 American cities, Kimmel’s return to air scored 6.3 million viewers, marking the most-watched regular episode in “Jimmy Kimmel Live” history (excluding special Sunday episodes). The broadcast represented a 343% increase from the previous season’s average of 1.4 million viewers. Kimmel’s Tuesday night monologue currently boasts more than 21 million views on YouTube.
During his Thursday monologue, Kimmel thanked Trump for the high ratings. “We couldn’t have done it without you, Mr. President,” he said.