Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night host briefly suspended over his comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk and his escalating war with President Donald Trump, will deliver a Christmas address this year boasting that 2025 has been “a really great year” for fascism — but only British viewers will see it on air.
Kimmel has been tapped to host Channel 4’s “Alternative Christmas Message,” a long-running British broadcast that airs on Christmas Day as a counterpoint to the royal address.
“From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” Kimmel is expected to say during the message, according to Channel 4.
The segment will air exclusively in the UK, though it will likely later be shared online and on social media platforms accessible in the United States.
The appearance caps a turbulent year for the late-night host, whose ABC talk show was briefly yanked off the air in September after a political firestorm erupted over remarks he made about the killing of conservative activist Kirk.
Channel 4 said Kimmel’s message will reflect on the past year “in a deeply personal and characteristically jovial address,” following his return to television and his escalating public clashes with the Trump administration.
A network spokesperson told the UK Guardian that the address will be shaped by Kimmel’s experience on what it called “the front line of America’s battle over free speech.”
Kimmel is expected to directly address the political climate and his own fallout with President Donald Trump, whose allies blasted the comedian after his on-air comments sparked conservative outrage.
During a monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” days after the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk, Kimmel accused figures aligned with the MAGA movement of dishonestly reframing the crime for political purposes.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said in his Sept. 15 monologue.
Kimmel’s remarks triggered a furious response from conservatives and station owners, leading ABC affiliates to pull the show from local airwaves.
ABC and its corporate parent Disney temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, an extraordinary move that ignited a national debate over political pressure and corporate censorship.
Days later, Kimmel returned to the air after the hiatus, but the episode left him visibly shaken.
During his final episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for 2025, the host addressed the year directly, fighting back emotion.
“This has been a strange year. It’s been a hard year,” Kimmel told viewers.
“We’ve had some lows, we’ve had some highs. For me, maybe more than any year of my life. I’m crying already, I’m sorry.”
Aside from the Kirk controversy, Kimmel this year also mourned the loss of the show’s band leader and childhood friend Cleto Escobedo III, who died in November.
Page Six was the first to report that Escobedo succumbed to complications stemming from a liver transplant.
Channel 4’s “Alternative Christmas Message” debuted in 1993 as a deliberate alternative to Britain’s royal broadcast. Since then, it has featured an eclectic and often controversial roster of speakers drawn from politics, culture and activism.
Past presenters have included French film star Brigitte Bardot, NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden and former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — choices that routinely sparked outrage, complaints and national debate in the UK.
Channel 4 told the Guardian that Kimmel’s address would speak to the global implications of American politics, particularly following Trump’s return to the White House and the administration’s broader influence abroad.
The Post has sought comment from ABC and Disney.
