‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ pulled off air ‘indefinitely’ by ABC over Charlie Kirk shooting comments
Jimmy Kimmel in the press room during night two of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 7 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
The announcement came after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Kimmel and said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
ABC announced Wednesday that it is taking Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air “indefinitely” following backlash over remarks the comedian made about the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, condemned Kimmel’s comments and hinted that ABC’s affiliate licenses could come under review unless its parent company, Disney, took disciplinary action.
The controversy began after Kimmel, on his show earlier this week, questioned the political narrative surrounding the suspect, Tyler Robinson. He accused supporters of Donald Trump and the “Make America Great Again” movement of politicizing the tragedy for their own gain.
“The MAGA Gang [is] 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 during his monologue. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Evelyn McGee-Colbert, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney attend the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14 in Los Angeles. (Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images)
Initially, there was speculation that Robinson may have been influenced by far-right rhetoric. However, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, later claimed Robinson held “deeply indoctrinated leftist ideology.” Prosecutors also released messages allegedly written by Robinson expressing intense disdain for Kirk, stating he’d “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred.”
Carr, speaking Wednesday on a podcast hosted by right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, described Kimmel’s comments as “the sickest conduct possible.” He warned, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” urging networks to take disciplinary action or risk further scrutiny from the FCC.
He further suggested that Kimmel’s remarks could be seen as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and reminded broadcasters that their licenses come with an obligation to serve the public interest.
Later that day, Nexstar Media Group — a major owner of ABC-affiliated stations — announced it would stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! “for the foreseeable future,” citing strong objections to Kimmel’s remarks.
“We will replace the show with alternate programming in our ABC-affiliated markets,” the company stated.
Shortly afterward, an ABC spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the show would be “pre-empted indefinitely” but declined to provide additional details.
The incident comes just months after CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, another late-night program known for its criticism of Trump. At the time, CBS claimed the move was driven by financial concerns unrelated to content or politics. Still, some critics speculated the decision was made to smooth over regulatory concerns tied to a pending merger between CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance Media.
Kimmel, like Colbert, has been a vocal critic of the former president. After Colbert’s cancellation, Trump posted on social media that “next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel.”
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