ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made about Charlie Kirk. (Photo: AP)

By John Koblin and Michael M. Grynbaum

Jimmy Kimmel broke his silence on Tuesday night in an emotional return to ABC’s airwaves, by turns defiant, joking and somber as he addressed the controversy that temporarily sidelined his late-night show and set off a national debate over free speech.

His voice breaking at times, Kimmel said he understood why his comments last week about the suspected shooter of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk seemed “ill-timed, or unclear, or maybe both.” He added, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”

But Kimmel also had harsh words for President Donald Trump and the government regulator who suggested that the Trump administration woul

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