Jimmy Kimmel Thanks ‘Donald Jennifer Trump’ After Critics’ Choice Awards Win

Jimmy Kimmel thanked President Donald Trump in his acceptance speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, attributing his win to “all the many ridiculous things” the president does daily.

The talk show host accepted the best talk show award on behalf of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after a tumultuous year for the show. In his speech, he mockingly applauded the president, citing him as one of the factors leading to the over 20-year-old show’s continued success.

“And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom, we would be going home empty-handed tonight,” said Kimmel to the crowd. “So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It’s been a banner couple of weeks, and we can’t get wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them.”

Kimmel was the center of a highly publicized scandal in September, after networks suspended his show over comments he made in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The move was made after Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr publicly threatened retribution for networks if Kimmel wasn’t pulled off the air.

“Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

After widespread outrage from both sides of the political spectrum, Kimmel returned to air the following week, receiving a whopping 6.3 million viewers – more than three times his usual ratings.

Trump himself made repeated threats against Kimmel. Weeks before his suspension, Trump predicted Kimmel would be “next” to go after CBS canceled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in July – just weeks after Paramount, the network’s parent company, paid Trump $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit.

The president celebrated Kimmel’s suspension, calling it “great news for America,” and threatened to sue ABC for giving Jimmy Kimmel “his job back,” less than an hour before Kimmel’s return to television.

Kimmel reportedly signed a contract extension with ABC in December, with his show set to continue into 2027.