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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said this week that conservative news outlets intentionally mischaracterized his reaction to conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death.
Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw interviewed multiple public figures at the annual Bloomberg Screentime event on Wednesday. After Kimmel's brief suspension after he appeared to falsely suggest Kirk's suspected shooter was a MAGA supporter, some critics have questioned the state of free speech in America.
Shaw asked him about the course of events that occurred and when Kimmel realized that this particular incident may have become a serious problem.
"I didn't think there was a big problem," Kimmel said of his initial reaction. "I just saw it as distortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks, and I aimed to correct it."
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Kimmel noted that as a public figure, it is hard to discern between what will or will not become a major problem for him.
"When they pulled the show off the air," he said, was when he realized this latest incident was an actual problem.
Even so, in the intervening days, the talk show host said that he had productive conversations with the leadership at his network, noting that, "It helped me just kind of understand where everyone was coming from."
"I can sometimes be reactionary," he acknowledged. "I can sometimes be aggressive. I can sometimes be unpleasant. I think that it helped me, really, having those days to think about it was helpful."
When asked if he felt his initial comments were mischaracterized, Kimmel argued that it was not a matter of feeling or opinion.
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"I didn't 'feel' like it, it was," he said. "It was intentionally, and I think maliciously, mischaracterized."
"I think what has happened over the last, like, three weeks, I think was very unfair to my bosses at Disney. I don't think anyone should ever be put in a position like this. It is insane," Kimmel said. "And I hope that we drew a really, really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept. I really hope that that's what comes out of all of this."
When he had returned after his brief suspension, he emotionally addressed viewers and attempted to make amends, saying, "I want to make something clear, because it's important to me as a human, and that is - you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man."
"Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions," he continued. "It was a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that, to some, it felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset. If the situation was reversed, there's a good chance I would have felt the same way."
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