Jimmy Kimmel is still on the air and very active, but he went through a major controversy and brief suspension in late 2025, and he’s back in the news in early 2026 for emotional monologues and political jokes.

Quick Scoop: What Happened to Kimmel?

  • In September 2025, ABC temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after a monologue in which Kimmel talked about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, criticizing President Donald Trump and some of his supporters’ reactions.
  • Conservative figures, including FCC chair Brendan Carr, blasted Kimmel, and Carr publicly floated possible regulatory action against ABC and its affiliates if Kimmel wasn’t “reprimanded,” which drew huge backlash and free‑speech concerns.
  • Disney/ABC pulled the show for several days, citing safety concerns and pressure, even as Kimmel reportedly refused to apologize and felt his comments were being misrepresented.
  • After negotiations, ABC lifted the suspension and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to the schedule on September 23, 2025, with sources saying Kimmel would still have creative freedom.

So he wasn’t “canceled” long‑term, but he did have a very public, politically charged suspension before coming back on air.

What He’s Doing Now (Early 2026)

  • “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is still running, with a posted schedule of new episodes for the week of January 26, 2026 on ABC’s site.
  • On Jan. 4, 2026, Kimmel won Best Talk Show at the Critics Choice Awards and used his speech to joke about President Donald Trump, thanking him sarcastically for providing endless material, and alluding to his earlier suspension.
  • In late January 2026, Kimmel delivered a very emotional monologue about the killing of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE, choking up while calling the shooting “vile and heartless” and urging conservatives and political leaders to show courage and help stop the violence.
  • That monologue has been circulating widely online, turning into a trending clip and sparking fresh debate about his politics, ICE, and federal force in Minneapolis.

Why People Are Asking “What Happened to Kimmel?”

A few threads have collided:

  1. The 2025 suspension drama
    • The brief shutdown of his show over his Charlie Kirk comments was widely covered and framed as a test case for political pressure on media and free speech.
 * Trump allies celebrated the suspension, while critics accused the administration and FCC of “jawboning” broadcasters into punishing a critic.
  1. His return and renewed political edge
    • Since coming back, Kimmel has kept up his sharp jokes about Trump, including mocking Trump’s FIFA “peace prize” and joking at award shows that Trump’s presidency fuels his writers’ room.
 * That’s kept him in the political crosshairs and on social media feeds for both fans and detractors.
  1. The Alex Pretti monologue
    • His tearful, almost joke‑free monologue about ICE’s shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis is another “serious Kimmel” moment, similar to earlier heartfelt segments he’s done after tragedies.
 * Clips of that speech are spreading across Instagram, YouTube, and news sites, so people who haven’t watched him regularly are suddenly seeing him again and wondering what changed.

Is His Show Still On?

  • Yes, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” remains on ABC with a normal late‑night schedule and upcoming guest lineups listed for late January 2026.
  • The earlier “suspension” was temporary; he returned in September 2025 and has continued hosting through awards season and the current news cycle.

TL;DR: If you’re seeing “what happened to Kimmel” on forums, it’s mainly about his 2025 suspension over controversial comments about Charlie Kirk and Trump, and his high‑profile, emotional and political monologues since then—especially his recent segment on the ICE killing of nurse Alex Pretti—while his show itself is very much still running.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.