Jimmy Kimmel is back, and he has a lot to say. Six days after ABC temporarily suspended his talk show, Kimmel, 57, opened his Tuesday, September 23, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a series of news clips claiming his first monologue back would be the most "pivotal moment" in recent broadcast history. The cameras then cut to the late night host and his sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, who were dressed up in a mouse and bananas suit, respectively. Kimmel then took the stage for real, walking out to thunderous applause and a standing ovation where the crowd began chanting, "Jimmy! Jimmy!" "If you're just joining us we're pre-empting your regularly scheduled programming of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report," Kimmel began, jokingly referring to what aired in place of his show during his suspension. "I"m happy to be here tonight with you. I'm not sure who had a weirder 48 hours: me or the CEO of Tylenol. It's been overwhelming. I've heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I've hard from all the people in the last six days. Everyone I have ever known has reached out 10 or 11 times. Characters from my past, the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle - where we are not airing tonight by the way - his name is Larry." Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Silence in 1st Social Media Post Since ABC Suspension After a throwback story about getting the boot by Larry in 1989, Kimmel pivoted to thanking his fellow late night hosts including Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert - "Who has found himself in this predicament," Kimmel said - and "even" Jay Leno. Kimmel noted that hosts from other countries also reached out to him, including one guy from Germany. "Can you imagine? This country has become so authoritarian the Germans are like, 'Come here!'" he joked. He also thanked fans of the show and viewers, many of who canceled their Disney+ subscriptions over the past week. "You supported our show cared enough to do something about it to make your voices heard so that mine could be heard and I will never forget it," he said, also thanking people like Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens, who he "never imagined" he'd receive support from. "It takes courage to speak out against this administration and they did and they deserve credit for it and thanks," he said. "For telling their followers that our government cannot be control what we do and do not say and TV." Kimmel then clarified his comments about Charlie Kirk's death while holding back tears. "I've been hearing a lot about what I need to do and say tonight and the truth is, I don't think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference," he said. "If you like me you like me, if you don't, I have no illusions of changing anyone's mind, but I do want to make something clear because it's important to me as a human: 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." He continued, "I posted a message on Instagram on the day [Charlie] was killed sending my love to his family asking for compassion, and I meant it and I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was a deeply disturbed individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make but I understand to some that felt either ill timed or unclear or maybe both." Kimmel noted that he understands why some people were "upset," adding that he has "many friends and family members on the 'other side' who I love and remain close to even thought we don't agree on politics at all." Revisiting How Jimmy Kimmel Initially Reacted to Charlie Kirk's Death After moving on to the importance of the first amendment, the host joked that his "one condition" for returning to late night was to convince viewers to "reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu" accounts. He then addressed his time at ABC directly: "I've been fortunate to work at a company that has allowed me to do the show the way we want to do it for almost 23 years. I've done almost 4,000 shows on ABC, and over that time, the people who run this network have allowed me to evolve and to stretch the boundaries of what was once traditional for a late night talk show, even when it made them uncomfortable, which I do a lot. Every night, they defended my right to poke fun at our leaders and to advocate for subjects that I think are important by allowing me to use their platform, andgrateful with that. With that said, I was not happy when they pulled me off the air on Wednesday. I did not agree with that decision and I told them that, and we had many conversations." He explained, "I shared my point of view, they shared theirs. We talked it through. And at the end, even though they didn't have to, they really didn't have to, this is a giant company, we have short attention spans and I am a tiny part of the Disney corporation, they welcomed me back on the air. And I thank them for that, because I know that unfortunately and I think unju