By Ally Uhlendorf
Editor-in-Chief
ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” indefinitely after the host made comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The announcement followed after “the head of the Federal Communications Commission suggested the broadcast licence of ABC, which is a subsidiary of Disney, was at risk, and after Nexstar Media Group said its stations affiliated with ABC would ‘preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight’s show,” according to AP News.
During his opening remarks for Monday night’s show, Kimmel referenced Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting Kirk. The comedian suggested that Robinson was aligned with President Donald Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
“The MAGA Gang 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. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
According to CNBC, “a person familiar with the situation told CNBC that Kimmel is not fired and that Disney plans to speak with him about what he should say when he goes back on the air.”
The President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, said, “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue,” Alford said.
President Trump celebrated Kimmel’s show being pre-empted on Truth Social.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” the president wrote.
Trump added his thoughts on fellow late-night show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers.
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” Trump wrote on the platform.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned ABC’s move.
“America is meant to be a bastion of free speech,” Schumer wrote in a tweet.
“Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel. This is about protecting democracy,” the senator wrote.
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel.
