LOS ANGELES, Calif., Oct 8 (Reuters) - Late-night host

Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday he believed his comments about

the reaction to the assassination of political activist Charlie

Kirk were "intentionally and maliciously mischaracterized" by

critics before his show was suspended.

Kimmel drew outrage from conservatives for saying on his

September 17 show that President Donald Trump's supporters were

desperate to characterize Kirk's accused assassin "as anything

other than one of them" and for trying to "score political

points" from his murder.

"I didn't think there was a big problem," Kimmel said to the

initial backlash to his comments. "I just saw it as distortion

on the part of some of the right-wing media networks, and I

aimed to correct it."

Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los

Angeles, Kimmel added that he thought critics had "intentionally

and maliciously mischaracterized" his remarks.

ABC parent Walt Disney ( DIS ) temporarily pulled "Jimmy

Kimmel Live!" off the air after Federal Communications

Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said the host misled viewers

about Kirk's alleged shooter's affiliation with Trump's Make

America Great Again movement. Carr urged local stations to push

back and raised the possibility of the FCC revoking the licenses

of local television stations that did not comply.

Kimmel said he spent the weekend following his suspension

speaking with Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden about

how to address the situation.

"It helped me think everything through, and it helped me

just kind of understand where everyone was coming from," Kimmel

said. "I can sometimes be reactionary. I can sometimes be

aggressive, and I can sometimes be unpleasant. And I think that

it helped me really having those days to think about it."

Disney ( DIS ) reinstated Kimmel after six days off the air.

The host said he told Disney ( DIS ) executives "the spirit of what

I'm going to say" when he returned to the airwaves "rather than

specifically what I was going to say."

Upon his return, Kimmel defended political satire

against "bullying" from Trump and officials in his

administration.

Kimmel's voice choked with emotion, moments after he took

the stage to a standing ovation, and 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."