VIDEO: Howard Reacts to Jimmy Kimmel’s Opening Monologue and the Return of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Embattled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to TV on Tuesday after a rollercoaster of a week that included everything from getting admonished by his own government and having his show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” pulled off the air “indefinitely” to being celebrated as a bastion of free speech and becoming a catalyst for a boycott against Disney, his network’s parent company.

On Wednesday morning, Howard and co-host Robin Quivers were eager to discuss the longtime Stern Show guest’s late-night return, which included a rousing opening monologue touching upon the perils of censorship and praising the champions of free speech who’d come before him, including comedians Lenny Bruce and George Carlin as well as Howard himself.

“A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American,” Jimmy told his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” audience. “This show is not important. What’s important is that we live in a country that allows us to do a show like this.”

Howard, for one, thought Jimmy had hit a home run. “I thought he hit the right tone. I thought it was beautiful,” he said, adding, “Imagine the pressure. He had to come out and represent the face of free speech, plus he’s representing Disney, and plus he’s supposed to be fucking funny. That’s an impossible task. It’s not easy.”

“Well done, Jimmy. You did a great job. Very, very good,” Howard concluded.

“It was brilliant,” Robin added.