Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster ABC said it is pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” indefinitely following sharp backlash over the host’s remarks about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The move comes after station owner Nexstar Media Group said it would yank the show from its ABC affiliate stations as a result of the comments.
The Irving, Texas-based Nexstar announced Wednesday that Kimmel will be off its stations for the foreseeable future.
“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,” a company representative said in a statement.
Kimmel said during a monologue on his Monday program that Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused in the shooting death of Kirk, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. He said MAGA supporters “are 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 then mocked President Trump for talking about the construction of a new White House ballroom after being asked how he was reacting to the murder of his close ally.
Law enforcement officials revealed Tuesday that Robinson had liberal political leanings and expressed disdain for Kirk in communications with his roommate.
“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.
Alford said continuing to give Kimmel a broadcast platform “is simply not in the public interest at this current time.”
Nexstar’s decision comes just after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr blasted Kimmel and threatened to take action against ABC. Appearing on the podcast of right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, Carr said one form of punishment could be pulling the licenses of ABC affiliates, which likely got Nexstar’s attention.
Nexstar has ABC affiliates in 32 markets across the U.S., including in New Orleans, New Haven, Nashville and Salt Lake City.
It’s extremely rare for networks to drop a show in response to political pressure.
Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect” was canceled by ABC in 2002 after advertisers pulled out following a comment by the host about the Sept. 11 hijackers, saying they were “not cowardly.”
In 1970, CBS blacked out the image of activist Abbie Hoffman when he appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” wearing a shirt made out of an American flag.
But Trump and an FCC chairman who has shown a willingness to do his bidding have now seemingly intimidated the owners of broadcast TV stations in a way the nation has never seen.
Paramount Global agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s legal salvo against CBS News over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Within the news organization, there was anger over what was widely seen as a capitulation to Trump in order to clear a path for Paramount’s $8-billion merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media. The case was labeled as frivolous by 1st Amendment experts.
Now the attacks have spread to late-night TV, where commentary on the Trump administration has become a source of tension. CBS this summer said “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” would end in May, with sources citing financial losses. Colbert had days earlier blasted Paramount’s settlement with Trump, calling it a bribe.
Trump also extracted a $16-million settlement from ABC in a defamation lawsuit over George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air statement that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.
Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, have said they want to crack down on any celebratory remarks about Kirk’s death or criticism of his views.
Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic member of the FCC, criticized the administration’s moves in a statement.
“An inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control,” Gomez said. “This Administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression, not because it glorifies violence or breaks the law, but because it challenges those in power or reflects views they oppose.”
