Jimmy Fallon 'Keeping His Head' Down After Jimmy Kimmel Suspension Drama: 'Our Show's Never Really Been That Political'

Jimmy Fallon is steering clear of controversy.

During a sit-down on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street to promote his new unscripted series, On Brand, the late-night host made it clear where he stands in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

“Our show has never really been that political, you know,” Fallon explained. “We hit both sides equally, and we try to make everybody laugh, and that’s really the way our show works.”

He continued, “Our monologues are kind of the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show. So really, I just keep my head down and make sure the jokes are funny. I have great writers… clever, smart writers. And we’re just trying to make the best show we possibly can and entertain everybody.”

Fallon’s comments come after Kimmel’s show was abruptly pulled from the air. On September 15, during his opening monologue, Kimmel made remarks about Charlie Kirk’s suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, and accused Donald Trump’s MAGA movement of planning to spin the tragedy for political advantage.

"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said at the time. “Many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”

Just two days later, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled from ABC’s lineup on September 17 after pushback from the FCC and Nexstar Media Group, which runs dozens of ABC affiliates across the country. Nexstar issued a statement saying it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”

The suspension sparked outrage across Hollywood. More than 400 celebrities — including Martin Short and Tom Hanks — signed a letter from the ACLU, calling the move a direct threat to free speech.

“We now find ourselves in a modern McCarthy era, facing exactly the type of heavy-handed government censorship our Constitution rightfully forbids,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. “The silencing of Jimmy Kimmel and jawboning of media outlets through lawsuits and threats to their licenses evoke dark memories of the 1950s. We must remember, however, that Senator McCarthy was ultimately disgraced and neutralized once Americans mobilized and stood up to him. We must do the same today because, together, our voices are louder and, together, we will fight to be heard.”

Days later, Disney, ABC’s parent company, issued its own statement regarding the late-night staple's comeback.

“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” the company said on September 22, per Variety. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”