ABC took Jimmy Kimmel off the air on Wednesday night, after the late night host made a joke about Detroit during the NBA finals, but joked about it on his show Thursday.

During halftime of Tuesday’s game, in which the Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Kimmel said in a live interview, “They’re going to burn the city of Detroit down if the Pistons win, and it’s not worth it.”

Kimmel taped Wednesday’s show with more comments about Detroit, but ABC decided to air a rerun instead. They would not confirm whether or not it was pulled because of the Detroit comments.

“What I said about Pistons fans during halftime was a joke, nothing more. If I offended anyone, I’m sorry,” he said in a statement. “Clearly, over the past 10 years, we in L.A. have taken a commanding lead in post-game riots. If the Lakers win, I plan to overturn my own car.”

On his show on Thursday, Kimmel made reference to his earlier remarks.

“I’m glad to be broadcasting,” he said, as he aired clips from Detroit news broadcasts, blasting Kimmel. “Somehow I’ve become Osama bin Pistons.

“It was a stupid joke. I said it at the spur of the moment. I apologize for it and I blame my parents for raising me stupidly.

“Now let’s get back to making fun of other cities, like Orlando.”






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