ABC has announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely, following backlash over comments the late-night host made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. A Disney spokesperson confirmed the suspension, saying the show will not air “for the foreseeable future” after ABC affiliates began pulling the show over Kimmel’s remarks.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns many ABC affiliates, led the charge, calling Kimmel’s comments “offensive and insensitive” and stating they did not align with community values during heightened national tensions. Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr condemned the host’s monologue and suggested the possibility of regulatory consequences for ABC/Disney if they failed to address the issue.
In a recent monologue, Kimmel falsely claimed that Robinson, the accused assassin of Charlie Kirk, was a part of the “MAGA gang”, and that Trump supporters are using Kirk’s death to score political points. He said, “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…” Reports have shown that Robinson was a leftist actor, as both text messages and engravings on ammunition show that he believed Kirk was a “facist” and that Robinson was “tired of his hatred”.
Following Nexstar’s move to stop airing the show on its stations, ABC responded by pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its schedule across its network. Some affiliates replaced it with reruns of other programs—such as Celebrity Family Feud—while the debate continues over both the content of Kimmel’s comments and what is deemed appropriate for broadcast.
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