Disney’s ABC paused Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show “indefinitely” on Wednesday after the host suggested, against all evidence, that Charlie Kirk’s assassination was carried out by a right-wing extremist.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesman for the network announced.
Kimmel’s Monday night monologue, which addressed Kirk’s assassination, faced backlash from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and conservative commentators after Kimmel suggested that the killer is a MAGA devotee and accused Trump supporters of trying to benefit politically from the assassination.
“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.”
Kimmel also rebuked President Donald Trump’s decision to fly American flags at half-mast in honor of Kirk.
“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend,” Kimmel said of the president. “This is how a four-year-old mourns a gold fish.”
Tyler Robinson, the shooter accused of murdering Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, said in private messages that he had “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred.”
“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson wrote in a text message.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” before the show’s cancellation on Wednesday.
“[Broadcasters] have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said on a podcast. “Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Trump, who has in the past been critical of Kimmel, lauded the Walt Disney Company-owned ABC’s decision as “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,” Trump said on social media.
ABC’s decision came after Nexstar Media, a large owner of television stations, decided it would not air Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future.”
“[We] do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” President of Nextar’s broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, said. “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 pre-empt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
Sinclair, another significant ABC affiliate carrier, similarly decided to stop airing Kimmel before Disney decided to cancel the show.