Walt Disney-owned ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely following comments he made about Charlie Kirk's assassination that sparked harsh criticism by the head of the Federal Communications Commission.
The network's decision on Wednesday comes Nexstar, which describes itself as the nation's largest local television and media company, announced its ABC affiliates would pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely over his comments.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.
A spokesperson for Jimmy Kimmel did not immediately return a call for comment, news agency Associated Press reported.
What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?
In his monologue on Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel said that “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 decision to pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air comes as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content he has found objectionable and called on the FCC to pull licenses from stations.
{{/usCountry}}The decision to pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air comes as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content he has found objectionable and called on the FCC to pull licenses from stations.
{{/usCountry}}Kimmel, like CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, has consistently been critical of President Donald Trump and many of his policies on his ABC show, the AP report said.
CBS said this past summer that it was cancelling Colbert's show at the end of this season for financial reasons, although some critics have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role.
Jimmy Kimmel's criticism of Donald Trump
Kimmel also criticised Trump's mourning of Kirk, pointing to a video of Trump's comments on the White House lawn. “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish,” Kimmel said.
Trump has frequently credited Kirk for driving more young voters and voters of colour in support of his successful 2024 presidential campaign.
Kirk was a co-founder at age 18 of Turning Point USA, an organisation dedicated to advancing conservative causes on college campuses and among young voters.
The US president has repeatedly sued, berated and threatened media companies whose coverage he disputes with legal or other action.
Viewership of late-night shows has been on the decline, as has much of traditional TV, as viewers shift to streaming and social media. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" averaged 1.57 million viewers per episode during the broadcast season that ended in May, according to Nielsen.
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was the most-watched late-night show during that time with an average of 1.9 million viewers.