ABC has made the significant decision to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s popular late-night talk show. This action follows a wave of controversy ignited by comments Kimmel made concerning the death of Charlie Kirk, leading several ABC-affiliated stations to declare they would not broadcast the program.
Kimmel, a seasoned figure in late-night comedy, addressed the public reaction to Kirk’s assassination during his Monday and Tuesday night episodes. He specifically highlighted that ‘many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk,’ a statement that quickly drew widespread criticism.
The network, which has been the home of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ since 2003, acted decisively after Nexstar Communications Group announced its intention to pull the show starting Wednesday. Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, publicly stated that Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death were ‘offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.’ Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates, making their collective stance a powerful factor in the network’s decision. As of now, Mr. Kimmel has not issued an immediate public statement regarding the suspension.
The White House also entered the discussion, with deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posting on Twitter Wednesday night: ‘Welcome to Consequence Culture. Normal, common sense Americans are no longer taking the b——- and companies like ABC are finally willing to do the right and reasonable thing.’
In his Monday monologue, Kimmel had critiqued what he perceived as opportunistic responses to Kirk’s passing. He remarked, ‘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.’ He further criticized Donald Trump’s reaction, suggesting it wasn’t the way an adult grieves a friend. Kimmel also humorously compared FBI chief Kash Patel’s handling of the murder investigation to ‘a kid who didn’t read the book, BS’ing his way through an oral report.’
Returning to the topic on Tuesday night, Kimmel satirized Vice President J.D. Vance’s performance as a guest host for Kirk’s podcast. He accused Trump of ‘fanning the flames’ by attacking those on the left, poking fun at the contradictory portrayals of his critics: ‘Which is it, are they a bunch of sissy pickleball players because they’re too scared to be hit by tennis balls, or a well-organized deadly team of commandos, because they can’t be both of those things.’
This incident is consistent with Kimmel’s history, much like CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, of offering strong critical commentary on Donald Trump and his policies throughout his tenure at ABC. Notably, CBS announced earlier this summer that Colbert’s show would conclude this season due to financial reasons, though some observers have speculated that his political outspokenness may have played an underlying role in that decision.