Jimmy Kimmel is back. I’m glad he’s back, but not because I enjoy his show. I have other reasons for gratitude.

I’m glad because I quickly got tired of the tone of conversation around his suspension. One side cried it was a violation of his freedom of speech. It wasn’t. Not even close. The other side gloated because a political rival had been silenced.

But first, let’s look at what Kimmel actually said that led to all this hoo-haw.

“The Maga Gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.

He went on to make vitriolic attacks on President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.

What he said came straight out of DNC talking points. Before Kimmel said it on his show, political operatives had been saying as much all over the internet. It started immediately after the murder. So, while Kimmel said that MAGA was trying to attach this kid to the left, he was trying to attach him to the right.

Operatives and elected officials were scrambling to assign this looney assassin to the other team.

Kimmel said in his return that trying to silence comedians is “anti-American.”

Read Kimmel’s comment again. What was funny? Where’s the comedy?

But he’s also correct on one level. If the government does the silencing, it’s impingement of freedom of speech. But if your employer removes you because the viewers and advertisers demand it, that’s them exercising their rights. Boycotts are very American.

Some of the American colonies were boycotting British goods prior to the revolution. And just to be clear, while we celebrate the Boston Tea Party, that was not an exercise of free speech. Dumping the East India Company’s property into the harbor was criminal, not free dialogue. The same applies to defacing monuments now.

But was Kimmel’s suspension a violation of free speech? No, it was confirmation of it.

Kimmel’s suspension was a business decision. His reinstatement was also a business decision. Had he been suspended only because it made Donald Trump unhappy, that would have been a travesty. But that had nothing to do with it.

Kimmel made many of his viewers angry. Angry viewers stop being viewers. Ratings drop. Advertising revenues drop. The show becomes unprofitable. Disney and ABC don’t owe airtime to Kimmel or anyone else. If the show makes money, it stays. If it doesn’t, it goes.

Speaking of revenues, Kimmel also repelled some of his advertisers. An advertiser has the right to not be associated with someone who will hurt their sales.

The subsequent outcry from Kimmel fans and supporters convinced the network and enough advertisers that staying with him is a good idea. That’s how it works. That’s how it should work.

Lost in much of the controversy is that employers have rights, too.

They can choose to not be associated with you. If you celebrate a murder, they can choose to not have you around. If you want to disparage the LGBTQ+ community, your employer can disassociate itself with you for that reason as well.

If you cover your face with tattoos, they can get rid of you. If you’re a member in good standing of the KKK, they can jettison you. You won’t be imprisoned, so you have your free speech. What you don’t have is freedom from consequences.

If your activism reflects poorly upon your employer, regardless of which side you advocate, you potentially alienate half of your employer’s customer base. They don’t have to put up with that.

Employment is a contract between the two parties. They don’t owe you anything beyond a wage in exchange for your labor.

And to the other side, don’t gloat. The pendulum will come for you in time and knock you from your perch of righteousness.

The same people who howled when people were fired for not bending a knee to the woke shrine are now gleeful when people are fired for tasteless social media posts about the murder of Charlie Kirk.

I’m not defending the idiots who celebrate a murder. Their antics are reprehensible.

So, I’m glad Kimmel is back, but I won’t be watching.

I didn’t like Kimmel in his former gig on “The Man Show” where he wore black face and was the poster boy for #metoo victims. He wasn’t funny as a misogynistic pig then and he’s not particularly funny as a partisan political hack now.

No, I’m glad Kimmel is back because of how it happened. Public feedback got him suspended. Public feedback got him reinstated. His rights were protected. The network’s rights were protected. Viewers, advertisers and opponents were all heard.

Free speech is messy, but it’s also beautiful when it works.