Last week, ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air. In one of his monologues, Jimmy Kimmel made a point about the right wing attempting to take advantage of podcaster Charlie Kirk’s murder, and Donald Trump’s FFC head Brendan Carr responded by obliquely threatening to revoke broadcast licenses. ABC owners Disney, attempting to keep Trump’s people happy, placed Jimmy Kimmel Live under indefinite suspension. Celebrities and former Disney execs reacted angrily, and so did much of the general public. Disney’s stock fell precipitously, and the company quickly moved to end that suspension. Last night, Jimmy Kimmel returned to television for what might be the most-watched, most-scrutinized episode of late-night TV in recent memory. His musical guest for the night was one of the people who supported him.

ABC News and Hulu, another Disney-owned company, recently launched the documentary film Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery, about Sarah McLachlan’s traveling festival of female performers in the ’90s. McLachlan attended the film’s premiere on Sunday night, but she and other Lilith Fair veterans like Jewel canceled their planned performances. Introducing the movie, McLachlan said, “I apologize if this is disappointing, but we have collectively decided not to perform but instead to stand in solidarity in support of free speech.” She didn’t invoke Jimmy Kimmel or ABC by name, but the connection was clear.

Jimmy Kimmel’s return was one part in an ongoing, tiresome culture war, and even that one tiny battle isn’t over yet. Last night, ABC stations owned by the right-wing companies Sinclair and Nexstar preempted Kimmel’s show. On his comeback show, Kimmel gave a half-hour monologue, choking up several times. At one point, Robert De Niro appeared via satellite as FCC chairman Brendan Carr. Kimmel then went on to interview movie star Glen Powell and to introduce Sarah McLachlan’s performance of “Better Broken,” the title track from her upcoming album. She sang it alone at a piano, and her presence made for a quiet statement. Watch it below.

And if you’re curious and you’ve got 28 minutes to spare, here’s Kimmel’s monologue.

Donald Trump responded to Jimmy Kimmel’s return on his own Truth Social network, referring to Kimmel as “yet another arm of the DNC” and writing, “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars.”

Trump on Kimmel: He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. pic.twitter.com/hw1uRVUMpb

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 24, 2025

Better Broken is out now on Concord.