Jimmy Kimmel is coming back to late-night — but only for one important reason: his team.
The comedian was reportedly “incredibly pissed” last week when ABC pulled his show from the air amid controversy surrounding comments made in relation to Charlie Kirk‘s death. Reports claimed he was ready to quit and was trying to get out of his contract.
But now, we’re just hours away from Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s return on Tuesday night (though Sinclair and Nexstar still won’t be running the show on their stations). So, why is Jimmy really coming back????
He didn’t want his staff left hanging financially!
Related: John Oliver BLASTS ‘Cowards’ At ABC Over Kimmel Suspension
A source told DailyMail.com on Monday that Jimmy’s main motivation to get back to work after this mess is to make sure his team is secure:
“He is coming back for everyone that works for him and out of respect for them, he wanted everyone in his crew not to miss any pay and any more work than they already have missed.”
Amazing! He can certainly afford some unexpected time off work, but not everyone on his crew may be that lucky! They must be very relieved!
Jimmy’s always had a good reputation when it comes to helping others, especially those in the entertainment industry. Last summer, a casting notice for the series went viral. It called for SAG-AFTRA members to apply for a role if they were within $1,401 of meeting the minimum requirement to qualify for health insurance. Deadline confirmed the notice was real. How awesome!
He did a similar thing in 2022 when Kerry Washington guest-hosted an episode in which a bunch of actors delivered a line — solely for the purpose of claiming their health insurance! Love that!
It only makes sense that Jimmy would put the needs of his staff first now. That said, the future is pretty open for the show. Some aren’t convinced the 57-year-old will stay at ABC for long after this, the source went on:
“As much as he wanted to leave ABC and expected not to be coming back at all, he is happy that the people he works with will have some time to figure out their next steps, because what this taught Jimmy was that he might not be leaving ABC now, he will once his contract is up [in 2026] unless they offer him a boatload of money.”
He’s been hosting the show since 2003! Ending it all would be huge. However, last summer, there were rumors he was ready to call it quits. So, who knows? Maybe this scandal was the last straw?
Discussing his beef with the Walt Disney Company, the confidant added:
“He is mad at them for doing this to him and his team and [Tuesday’s show] will be must see TV, he is going to give us a glimpse of what he has been dealing with the last few days and we will all know what his plans are for the future. He isn’t going to take this lying down.”
As for what we can expect from him in his first show back, nobody knows. Another insider insisted he’s “not going to roll over and just take it” since “the last week has made his balls bigger.” The source stressed:
“I expect him to come out swinging and I think everyone here does. We are depending on him to stand up for what’s right. If he doesn’t, there will be a mutiny.”
Is there pressure for him to give in to Sinclair’s apology demands? Or will he take a stand against the political pressures that seemingly swayed this suspension in the first place? Time will tell! Let us know what you think about all this (below)!
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