Public Enemy Rocks ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Following the Show’s Return
Public Enemy Rocks ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Following the Show’s Return
Screenshot from Public Enemy on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!,' Sept. 29, 2025.
Public Enemy rocked the stage at Jimmy Kimmel Live! a week after Kimmel’s return to the air following the show’s suspension. Chuck D., Flavor Flav and crew performed a medley of their hits at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where Kimmel is hosting a week of shows. P.E. acknowledged Kimmell’s struggles with the FCC and Donald Trump.
“Hey yo, Jimmy Kimmel,” Flav announced. “We are Public Enemy and I just want you to know that Public Enemy always got ya back!”
The crew out of Long Island ran through a pair of classics: opening with “Don’t Believe The Hype” and closing with “Fight the Power”; while also breaking out their newest track, “The Hits Just Keep On Comin’ between those two favorites.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday after comments Kimmel made about conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
On Sept. 22, it was announced that the show was reinstated. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” ABC said a statement.
The suspension drew criticism from across the spectrum of entertainment, media and politics.
Barack Obama also spoke out when Kimmel was suspended. “After years of complaining about cancel culture,” he wrote on X at the time. “The current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”
Public Enemy dropped Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 back in June as a surprise via Bandcamp. They’re next slated to perform at Reggae Rise Up in Las Vegas on Oct. 4 and Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA, on Nov. 14.
