Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday said that his comments on the reaction to the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk were “intentionally and maliciously mischaracterised” by critics, which led to a six-day suspension of his show.

Kimmel faced backlash from conservatives after his September 17 episode, in which he suggested supporters of US President Donald Trump were eager to frame Kirk’s accused assassin “as anything other than one of them” and accused them of attempting to “score political points” from the murder.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles, Kimmel said, “I didn't think there was a big problem,” describing the criticism as a distortion by “some of the right-wing media networks”.

ABC, owned by Walt Disney, temporarily pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said Kimmel misled viewers about the alleged shooter’s affiliation with Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. Carr urged local stations to resist the host’s coverage and suggested the FCC could revoke licenses for noncompliant stations.

Kimmel said he spent the weekend after his suspension consulting with Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden, reflecting on his approach and the situation. “It helped me think everything through, and it helped me just kind of understand where everyone was coming from,” he said, according to Reuters.

Visibly emotional during his return on air, Kimmel told the audience, who gave him a standing ovation, “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”.