On Wednesday, a wave of outrage swept through fans, celebrities, and Democratic politicians alike. The reason? ABC’s bombshell announcement that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ was being pulled off the air indefinitely. Critics swiftly condemned the move as an act of censorship, a direct assault on the fundamental right to free expression.
In stark contrast, conservative activists and media figures applauded ABC’s decision. They argued that Kimmel’s remarks regarding the alleged killer of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk were inflammatory and justified the network’s action to suspend his late-night program.
Just days earlier, Kimmel had sparked controversy by claiming that the ‘MAGA gang’ was ‘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.’
This video explores ABC’s decision to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, following his contentious remarks about the individual accused of activist Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting.
The public’s intense reactions to ABC’s move perfectly mirrored the deep partisan chasm that has widened since Kirk’s tragic death.
Nicholas Scutti, a 33-year-old aspiring comedy writer from Hollywood, felt the sting of ABC’s decision personally. He was one of fewer than ten protesters who gathered outside Kimmel’s studio on Hollywood Boulevard, compelled to join the public outcry against the show’s indefinite suspension.
“It’s crucial to speak up now,” Scutti stated, “because if we don’t, it will only become more difficult later on.”
Across the street, outside the TCL Chinese Theater, 22-year-old Connor Lattery of Burbank, California, was waiting for a premiere. He expressed genuine shock upon hearing ABC’s announcement, especially given the timing.
“After watching the clip they’re supposedly canceling him over,” Lattery commented, “it feels like a somewhat extreme decision.”
Heidie Garcia, 21, who had traveled from near Long Beach to attend the same film screening, found the news less surprising. “We can’t say anything anymore,” she lamented. “Everything is being censored.”
Online, many conservatives saw ABC’s decision as a long-awaited consequence for a comedian they had often lambasted. Conversely, critics of the Trump administration quickly linked the network’s action — which they perceived as government-influenced — to broader attempts to stifle free speech.
Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, argued that Kimmel’s removal was not ‘cancel culture.’ He asserted that when ‘a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it, that’s not cancel culture. That is consequences for your actions.’
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, took to X on Wednesday to declare that the Republican Party’s coordinated pressure on media companies — urging them to fire commentators, cancel shows, and control platforms — constituted a ‘dangerous’ assault on the First Amendment.
“The GOP does not believe in free speech,” Newsom wrote. “They are censoring you in real time.”
Tommy Vietor, who served as a national security spokesman under President Barack Obama and co-hosts the liberal podcast ‘Pod Save America,’ described Kimmel’s suspension as ‘absurd.’ He suggested that any factual errors should be corrected, but that ‘suspending or canceling the show is a wild overreaction.’
Hasan Piker, a prominent left-wing streamer who was set to debate Kirk this month, criticized corporations on X for ‘instantly folding’ to the Trump administration, urging liberals to resist.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, called for public action against the cancellation of Kimmel’s show, accusing former President Trump of exploiting Kirk’s death to silence political opposition.
“If you don’t raise your voices right now about the assault on free speech, about Donald Trump’s decision to, disgustingly, exploit the murder of Charlie Kirk so as to try to permanently render powerless and impotent those who politically oppose him, there may be no democracy to save a year from now,” Senator Murphy warned in a video.
This abrupt halt to Kimmel’s show follows by merely two months CBS’s announcement that ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ — which airs in the same late-night slot — was also being canceled. Colbert’s fans similarly reacted with widespread criticism to that news.
CBS had previously stated that Colbert’s cancellation was a ‘purely financial decision,’ unrelated to his political views, which, like Kimmel’s, are strongly anti-Trump. Both hosts are known for their satirical takes on right-wing politics and their critiques of the Trump administration in their opening monologues.
From Britain, where he is on a state visit, former President Trump applauded ABC’s decision via social media, hailing it as ‘Great News for America’ and pressing NBC to follow suit with its own late-night programming.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump posted. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”
Other prominent conservative voices quickly joined the social media discourse.
Conservative commentator Mark R. Levin asserted that Kimmel should have been ‘canned a long time ago.’
“Better late than never,” Levin added.
Former Fox News anchor and current YouTube host, Megyn Kelly, pondered the immense viewer backlash Kimmel’s monologue must have generated.
“Just think for a minute about the amount of IRATE mail/viewer feedback they must have gotten to do this,” Kelly wrote on X.
Hours before the show’s pre-emption became public, Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, had already labeled Kimmel a ‘disgrace’ in an X post.
Brit Hume, a political analyst for Fox News, pointed out that ABC’s decision came just hours after Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, hinted at potential agency action against the network due to Kimmel’s Monday remarks.
“The First Amendment does not protect performers like Jimmy Kimmel from being canceled by their private sector employers,” Hume wrote on X. “But I would have liked the outcome a lot better if the chairman of the FCC had not involved himself in it.”
Yan Zhuang also contributed to this report.