Controversial late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has been pulled off the air ‘indefinitely’ by ABC over his divisive comments regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The veteran host’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be removed from the network ‘for the foreseeable future,’ a spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
This drastic move comes after Kimmel, 57, shared a controversial statement about Kirk’s murder suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, insinuating he was a conservative.
However, investigators say Robinson held far-left ideologies and was dating his transgender roommate.
The TV personality’s unproven suggestion that Robinson was a proponent of the MAGA movement caught instant flak from Federal Communications Commission boss Brendan Carr.
On Wednesday, Carr told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson he was considering an investigation into Kimmel and his network ABC over the jarring remarks.
‘When you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible,’ Carr told Johnson.
‘As you’ve indicated, there are avenues here for the FCC, so there… are some ways in which I need to be a little bit careful because we could be called ultimately to be a judge on some of these claims that come up,’ Carr said.
He is now set to appear in his first interview following the bombshell news on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News.
Controversial late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has been suspended by ABC over his divisive comments regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk
Kirk (pictured with his family) was a co-founder of the political nonprofit Turning Point USA
Soon after the Donald Trump ally (pictured), 31, was fatally shot in the neck on the Orem campus – in front of an audience of 3,000 horrified spectators – Kimmel reacted to his death online
Kimmel’s comments about Robinson came during his Monday night monologue.
‘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,’ the host said.
Kirk, 31, had been shot and killed at Utah Valley University on September 10 – in front of an audience of 3,000 horrified spectators – Kimmel reacted to his death online.
Shortly after the shooting, Kimmel wrote on social media: ‘Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?’ Kimmel wrote.
‘On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.’
But he appeared to change his tune before his monologue on Monday.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been a network staple for more than 22 years.
In response to Kimmel’s remarks, Carr floated the idea of suspending the host – one of several prospective ‘remedies’ for the situation, he said.
Carr told podcaster Benny Johnson on Wednesday he was considering an investigation into Kimmel
‘Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?’ the Jimmy Kimmel Live host wrote on Instagram
At one point, Johnson asked Carr what kind of action he thought should be taken, proposing an on-air apology from Kimmel.
‘I think what you said there strikes me as a very reasonable, minimal step that can be taken,’ Carr replied.
ABC’s decision to pull the show came shortly after its affiliate group, Nexstar, also announced it would stop airing it effective immediately.
‘Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,’ the company wrote on Wednesday.
Nexstar’s broadcasting division President Andrew Alford blasted Kimmel’s comments as ‘offensive and insensitive.’
In reaction to Nextstar’s move to axe Kimmel, both Johnson and Carr posted celebratory sentiments on X.
‘Great job @NXSTMediaGroup. Thank you for standing up for Charlie,’ Johnson wrote.
The largest station group in the country has a major merger proposal before the Trump administration – its proposed acquisition of Tegna – which must be approved by Carr.
If the merger were to go through, Nexstar would have 265 stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing 80 percent of US television households, according to Deadline.
Another major merger between Paramount and Skydance had been criticized by fellow late night television host Stephen Colbert just days before CBS announced it was canceling his show.
‘The President’s FCC is forcing their perceived critics off the airwaves,’ the Democratic Party said following the news of Kimmel’s cancelation on Wednesday.
‘This is a chilling attack on the freedom of speech our founders enshrined in the Constitution. This should alarm all Americans—regardless of political party.’
Stephen Colbert’s show had been canceled earlier in the year on CBS
But conservatives celebrated the news of Kimmel’s cancelation Wednesday night, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying it is a ‘rare example of accountability in legacy media.’
‘That ABC actually did something about Kimmel’s lies is surprising,’ he posted on X.
President Donald Trump also called the late night show’s cancelation ‘great news for America.’
‘Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,’ he wrote on his Truth Social platform. ‘Kimmel has ZERO talent and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.’
‘That leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers on Fake News NBC,’ the president continued.
‘Their ratings are also horrible,’ he said, encouraging the network to fire those late night hosts as well.
