Washington DC [US], September 24 : Jimmy Kimmel returned to social media for the first time since his late-night show's hiatus, and the ABC late-night host posted a photo on Tuesday with late Norman Lear, who former President Richard Nixon once singled out as one of his "enemies," as reported by Fox News.
He captioned the image, "Missing this guy today."
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He has been at the centre of a national political firestorm about free speech and the differences between "cancel culture" and "consequence culture". It marked his first public comments since he was taken off the air last week and came just hours before his return on Tuesday night, according to the outlet.
The post came hours before Kimmel's return to Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the controversy over remarks about the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel faced backlash for suggesting the suspect was a MAGA supporter, leading to a veiled FCC warning and two major ABC affiliate owners temporarily pulling his show.
The Walt Disney Company confirmed Monday that after "thoughtful conversations" with Kimmel, the program would resume, although Sinclair and Nexstar affiliates will continue to preempt it.
Lear was a legendary screenwriter and producer who died in 2023 at the age of 101. His sitcoms were quite popular in their day and addressed social issues, including racism, homosexuality, and war. Some of his hit shows he created and produced include "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times," as per Fox News.
Lear was known to be on the "enemies list" of President Richard Nixon, who was in the White House from 1969 to 1974, according to People.
In a 2016 interview with Democracy Now!, Lear talked about being on the "enemies list" of President Richard Nixon.
"I think I just got lucky," Lear said of his spot on Nixon's enemies list. "Well, he's on tape, you know, I think we used the tape in the American Masters documentary, where he is talking about it with [H.R.] Halderman in his office, he's talking about 'that show that makes fun of a good man.' Those were his words. And he was talking about Archie Bunker [from All in the Family] ... And he was talking about -- that we were lauding homosexuality and homosexuality brought down the Greek empire... It was Nixon at his Trump-ish," as per the outlet.