ABC’s late-night talk show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ has been suspended indefinitely following Kimmel’s comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
During his Monday, Sept. 15 episode, Kimmel said the following: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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.”
After Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s assassination came under harsh criticism from the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday, Sept. 17, that it will indefinitely stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! A spokesperson for the network said in a statement: “‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be pre-empted indefinitely.”
The drastic move came after FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened to take action against ABC affiliates in the wake of Kimmel suggesting the Kirk shooting suspect was a MAGA Republican during a monologue earlier this week.
Nexstar Media Group Inc. had stated earlier on Wednesday that it would stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its 32 ABC affiliates. Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, 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.”
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, writing, “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. 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!!! President DJT”
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