Jimmy Kimmel show is pulled by ABC after comments about the Charlie Kirk killing

Late night has lost another host after ABC announced Wednesday Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension following comments he made earlier in the week regarding speculation swirling around the suspect in the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

An ABC spokesperson told NPR Wednesday evening that “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely.” Kimmel is the second late night host to be knocked off air. A few months ago, CBS announced it would not be bringing back The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

CBS said the decision was purely a financial one. But it coincided with a lawsuit filed by Trump involving CBS news, that was eventually settled, and the sale of CBS’ parent company that needed approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The timing raised suspicions from media watchers.

Kimmel’s removal comes after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr condemned Kimmel’s recent monologue during an interview with YouTuber Benny Johnson. In that interview, Carr threatened to pull licenses from ABC affiliates who continued to broadcast Jimmy Kimmel Live! 

Carr told Johnson, “It’s really sort of past time that a lot of these licensed broadcasters themselves push back on Comcast and Disney to say, ‘Listen, we are going to preempt, we aren’t going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out. Because we licensed broadcasters are running the possibility of fines or license revocations from the FCC if we continue to run content with a pattern of news distortion.'” 

Nexstar Media Group, an operator of 32 ABC stations, later announced that its ABC-affiliated stations will stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely, starting Wednesday night. Nexstar also is under scrutiny for their desired merger with TEGNA Inc. for $6.2 billion. It, too, needs FCC approval.

Nexstar’s broadcasting president, Andrew Alford, said in a statement that Kimmel’s comments do not reflect the values of the communities the company serves. He added that pulling the show is intended to promote “respectful, constructive dialogue” during a sensitive political moment.

On Monday night,  Kimmel commented on the assassination of Charlie Kirk in his monologue, saying: 

“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,” Kimmel said.

There has been no clear motive in Kirk’s killing and investigators continue to dig into the background of the suspect charged in the case.

President Trump has been critical of both Colbert and Kimmel, calling them “untalented” among other things. Both have used stinging wit to comment on social and current events.

Trump posted on social media from Windsor Castle, where he is visiting the United Kingdom, calling the move by ABC as “Great News for America.” In his post, Trump falsely said that Kimmel’s show had been cancelled.