Jimmy Kimmel was “suspended indefinitely” by his employer, ABC/Disney, and then reinstated.

Last week, late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel was “suspended indefinitely” by his employer, ABC/Disney, after his on-air statements about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The indefinite term became definite when the media/entertainment giant agreed to put Kimmel back in the host’s chair starting Tuesday, September 23.

The jettison of Jimmy occurred after the alleged comedian spewed the untrue absurdity that the Kirk assassin was a MAGA member. ABC/Disney said that the comments were “ill-timed” and “insensitive.”

Kimmel’s return to the late night airwaves followed what ABC/Disney called “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.”

Some praised the canning of Kimmel as evidence that Disney’s reliably woke behavior was changing. Others saw it as an attack on the First Amendment and/or an example of Trump authoritarianism.

Kimmel’s return was labeled by some as a caving by Disney to the leftist forces that rule Hollywood. Others touted it a victory for freedom of speech and a Trump loss.

The truth is that in both the firing and the rehiring the real reason, — Disney’s motivation — boils down to one thing: money.

Kimmel was not fired because anti-woke sentiment hijacked the corporate culture at Disney, nor because moral clarity made a rare appearance in Mickey’s boardroom. Two of the largest customers of Disney programming informed the Mouseketeers that Kimmel’s comments were so disgusting that they were cutting the Late Night show and stopping payment for Kimmel’s crap.

Kimmel’s ratings were pathetic before the suspension. He was only getting about 30% of the viewers that Greg Gutfeld gets on FOX. In fact, some You Tubers who broadcast from their closet get more views than Kimmel.

Disney was hemorrhaging money. They saw Kimmel’s comments as a good excuse to dump a loser that is a plague to profit and a contributor to plunging stock price.

As Michael Corleone said in ‘The Godfather,’ “Nothing personal, it’s just business.”

Some may be asking — if it was such a good business decision to suspend Kimmel, why did Disney put him back on the air?

One thing is certain: it was not because of “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.” As he proved by his comments about the Kirk assassination, Jimmy is not the sharpest tool in the shed. “Thoughtful” when applied to Jimmy Kimmel is as much a non-sequitur as is “sharp as a tack” when applied to Joe Biden.

Kimmel’s lawyers, on the other hand, are probably very thoughtful in conversation. Jimmy’s legal team may have had some thoughtful discussion about the costs — financial and otherwise — and the inconvenience and the uncertainty of litigation. The lawyers may have also predicted an upturn in viewership as a result of all the press and controversy surrounding the suspension.

Disney concluded that the cost of canning Jimmy wasn’t worth it, especially since his contract is up in only about eight months. Disney probably thought a viewer increase possible, at least temporarily. They may even have a sliver of hope that the brush with unemployment might motivate Jimmy to try to be funny, rather than lecture his audience like an angry frustrated substitute teacher.

All things considered, Disney decided to give Kimmel a chance to “Show me the money.”

The decision is win-win for Disney. Wait eight months, avoid a lawsuit, and either Jimmy grows his audience, or he doesn’t get a new contract and the show ends in May. Problem solved.

Jimmy will most likely be gone for good next spring, thereby proving — at least in this case — the truth of the famous phrase: “What’s good for business, is good for America.”

Philip S. Bovee is an attorney and writer who has lived in Pahrump since 2023.