TT Jimmy Kimmel’s Epic Win at Critics Choice Awards – But His Speech After the Show Got Pulled Off-Air Months Ago Is the Real Bombshell 😱😂 What Did He Say?
Jimmy Kimmel sent a warning to President Donald Trump while accepting the award for the Best Talk Show at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday night.
In his speech, Kimmel first thanked the president and said that without him, they would be going home empty-handed. Then, the late-night host teased his return to screens on Monday with the first episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live of 2026.
“It’s been a banner couple of weeks,” Kimmel. “We can’t wait to get back on the air to talk about them.”
Why It Matters
Kimmel and Trump have been frequent critics of each other. This most notably came to a head in 2025, when Kimmel’s show was briefly taken off the air after he suggested the “MAGA gang” had tried to politicize the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and mocked Trump’s response to a reporter’s question in the aftermath.
Jimmy Kimmel accepts the award for best talk show for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” during the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, at Th…Read More | AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Kimmel faced sharp criticism from conservatives, and though the show was later reinstated, Trump applauded the decision to pull it from the air, describing it as “Great News for America,” and saying that Kimmel has “ZERO talent.”
On his return to TV, Kimmel said “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man” and added that he also didn’t intend to “blame any specific group” for the actions of Kirk’s alleged killer.
The show’s suspension and reinstatement put Kimmel at the center of a political firestorm over freedom of speech and expression in the United States. This is something he addressed during the broadcast of the “Alternative Christmas Message” on the British Channel 4 network. “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” Kimmel said during the address, adding that “Tyranny is booming over here,” and said that the president is “figuratively and literally tearing down the structures of our democracy.”
The fallout drew more eyeballs to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which experienced its highest ratings in a decade when it returned to air after the suspension.
What To Know
Kimmel’s promise to get back on the air and talk about the last few weeks follows in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. strike on Venezuela and capture of the country’s president Nicolás Maduro.
The most recent episode of his show aired on December 18, where the late-night show host said it has been a “strange” and “hard year.”
“We’ve had some lows, we’ve had some highs. For me, maybe more than any year of my life. I’m crying already, I’m sorry,” he said.
After Kimmel’s show was reinstated in September, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent was never there.”
What People Are Saying
Jimmy Kimmel, while accepting the award for the Best Talk Show at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards: “I want to thank our President, Donald Jennifer Trump. Without whom, we would be going home empty-handed tonight. So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day.”
President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social after Kimmel’s show was reinstated in September: “Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
What Happens Next?
Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to the air on January 5, 2026. The first episode will feature Ben Affleck and Erin Doherty, and the musical guest will be Molly Tuttle.
