Calling attempts to silence critics "un-American," comedian Jimmy Kimmel used his return to late night television Tuesday to call on the public to defend their First Amendment rights threatened.

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Calling attempts to silence critics "un-American," comedian Jimmy Kimmel used his return to late night television Tuesday to call on the public to defend their First Amendment rights threatened by the Trump administration.

"This show is not important," he said during his opening monologue. "What's important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this."

Kimmel's eponymous show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was pulled from the airwaves by broadcaster ABC on Wednesday over comments he made during the Sept. 15 night airing of his show in the wake of the fatal shooting of conservative activist and provocateur Charlie Kirk.

His comments criticizing some far-right conservatives for trying to "score political points" by characterizing the alleged shooter as a member of the left despite the motive not being known prompted Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr to issue what many critics see as threats for ABC to pull Kimmel's show or face potential federal punitive consequences.

The show was suspended, but Disney, ABC's parent company, earlier this week decided to allow the show to return.

During his opening monologue, an emotional Kimmel said it wasn't his intention to make light of Kirk's murder.

"I don't think there's anything funny about it," he said, while choking back tears.

He said it wasn't his intention, either, to blame any specific group for the actions of "a deeply disturbed individual."

"That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make," he said, stating he understands that some might think his comments ill-timed, unclear or both.

"This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution and it isn't, ever."

He continued by stating he has spoken to comedians around the world who admire the United States' freedom of speech, which Kimmel explained he had taken for granted until CBS in July decided to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and affiliates being pressured to drop Jimmy Kimmel Live!

"That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American and it is dangerous," he said.

He blamed the Trump administration and specifically President Donald Trump himself for targeting their speech through coercing for their shows canceled.

"The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can't take a joke," he said.

"He was somehow able to squeeze Colbert out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me and now he's rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don't make millions of dollars," he said, referring to two other late night show hosts Trump has targeted.

"And I hope that if that happens, or if there's even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week," he continued.

"We have to speak against this because he's not stopping. And it's not just comedy."

Kimmel highlighted the Pentagon's decision to require press to sign a pledge promising to not report information not authorized for release, White House moves to take control over the press corps and others as Trump administration attacks on free speech that extend further than the comedy world.

"I know it's not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it's so important to have a free press," he said, "and it is nuts that we aren't paying more attention to it."

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has attracted criticism for using his office to stifle speech he disagrees with.

While CBS has said its decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was financial, critics say it occurred after Colbert described a recent multimillion-dollar court settlement between his broadcaster and the Trump administration as a bribe to allow CBS' parent company, Skydance, to complete a multi-million-dollar merger with Paramount Global.

He has also attracted criticism over his decisions to end federal funding for PBS and NPR, whose coverage he has called "bias."

Trump recently responded to criticism by telling reporters in the Oval Office that he is "a very strong supporter of free speech" but that so-called negative new coverage about him was "cheating."

"They'll take a great story and make it bad. See, I think that's really illegal, personally," he said, while accusing news networks as being "offshoots of the Democratic National Committee."

Following the announcement that Kimmel would be returning to the air on Tuesday night, he took to his Truth Social platform, stating that ABC had told the White House his show had been canceled.

"He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution," he said in the statement.

"I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do."

Nextstar Media Group and 38 of Sinclair Broadcasting's channels did not air the show Tuesday night.