An emotional Jimmy Kimmel choked up while delivering his monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night, marking his first appearance since a six-day suspension from ABC.

Kimmel opened the show with a montage of news coverage surrounding his suspension, including one anchor calling his return “one of the most pivotal moments in broadcast history”. The skit cut to Kimmel and sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez backstage in tiger and banana costumes before the host joked, “We should probably change”.

Welcomed by the studio audience with a thunderous applause, Kimmel began his monologue: “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol”.

He went on to thank fellow late-night hosts and industry figures who voiced support, including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Conan O’Brien, James Corden, Jay Leno, Howard Stern and David Letterman.

He also acknowledged unlikely allies from the political right. “Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway,” Kimmel said, naming Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.

“Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects, some of the things they say even make me want to throw up, it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did and they deserve credit for it.”

Kimmel then explained his September 15 remarks following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Holding back tears, he said: “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it… Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions — it was a deeply disturbed individual.”

The host’s first guests back were actor Glen Powell and singer Sarah McLachlan. McLachlan recently showed solidarity with Kimmel by canceling her scheduled performance at the Los Angeles premiere of Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery – The Untold Story, an ABC News Studios docuseries.

Upcoming guests include Ethan Hawke, Lisa Ann Walter and Yungblud on September 24, followed by Peyton Manning, Oscar Nuñez and Alex G on September 25.

Not all ABC stations carried Tuesday’s broadcast. Despite Disney’s decision to reinstate the program, affiliates owned by Nexstar and Sinclair said they would continue to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the time being.