Jimmy Kimmels return monologue racks up 16 million views on social media

(Adds background from show on Tuesday)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Jimmy Kimmel's monologue on his return to U.S. late-night television on Tuesday after Walt Disney lifted his suspension has been seen 16 million times on Google's YouTube and Meta's Instagram. By noon on Wednesday, Kimmel's monologue had 11 million views on YouTube and 5 million on Instagram. Broadcast ratings for Tuesday's show were not yet available.

Kimmel returned to the air six days after his remarks about the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk led Disney to suspend his show under pressure from President Donald Trump's administration. Disney initially said some of Kimmel's remarks were "ill-timed" and "insensitive."

The company's decision to cut short Kimmel's exile marked a high-profile act of corporate defiance in the face of Trump's escalating crackdown on perceived enemies in the media through litigation and regulatory threats.

Kimmel on Tuesday defended political satire against "bullying" from Trump and officials in his administration. Kimmel's voice choked with emotion, moments after he took the stage to a standing ovation, and he said: "It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don't think there's anything funny about it."

Last week Kimmel had said Trump's supporters were eager to characterize Kirk's assassin "as anything other than one of them" and accused them of trying to "score political points" from Kirk's killing. Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair both opted on Tuesday to keep "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off their combined 70 owned and operated ABC stations, which account for about 23% of U.S. households. That meant the show was not seen over the air in places like Seattle, Salt Lake City, Utah; Nashville and New Orleans, among other markets. It also did not air in Washington, D.C.

However, Disney offers Kimmel's show for viewing on a number of streaming apps, which are accessible all over the country. In response to Kimmel's remarks last week, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened an investigation of ABC and its affiliates. He urged television stations to drop Kimmel's show or face possible fines and revocation of their broadcast licenses.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said on September 17, which brought calls for his resignation from Democrats and sharp criticism from Republicans including Senator Ted Cruz. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio)